


Everything Wrong With: Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor's Path

by PierceTheVeils



Series: Everything Wrong With: The Ace Attorney Games [8]
Category: CinemaSins, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: CS is amazing, Eighth (and last) of these bitches, Gen, Humor, Non-Serious Game Reviews, Series Spoilers, We're almost done, can you believe it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2019-10-31 02:45:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17840915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PierceTheVeils/pseuds/PierceTheVeils
Summary: No video game is without sin.





	1. Everything Wrong With: Turnabout Target

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers... duh.

(Before we start) "Fandom teams up to do shit franchise refuses to do and arguably does it better than them cliche. I wasn't originally going to include this in the review proper, but since these fans are literally the only reason this game is playable in English  _and_  this is the game with the fewest typos and localization errors-" *review begins with a negative five sins

"President of Zheng Fa comes to visit the United States, and decides to land his plane in the middle of a Los Angeles lake (a place with no national, popular, cultural, or historical significance of any kind) and give his address in front of said plane to a relatively small crowd. Who planned this diplomatic event? Fire that person." *ding

("Can you hear it? The cheers of the crowd!") "No, I can't." *ding

("Huang's" speech recaps the events of the previous title) "Reminder that Turnabout Ablaze was a case that existed. I'm _still_  sore from that review, thank you very much." *ding

("Huang" declares that "The Hammer of Justice shall be brought down upon all evil!" seconds before being supposedly being shot at) "Irony." *ding

"Why does Edgeworth get called in to deal with 'Huang's' assassination attempt? I know 'Huang' thinks Edgeworth is all that for solving the previous case, but wouldn't a crime of this magnitude be more likely to end up in the hands of a federal prosecutor, or even a group like the CIA? This game and its prequel have taken great pains to remind us that Edgeworth prosecutes only for the district. And no, it's not like he cares about jurisdiction at any other point in this game, but that's not even the problem here because Edgeworth was  _invited_ onto this crime scene! Is expecting Ace Attorney to understand how district, state, and federal jurisdictions work too much to ask of this series? Why yes, yes it is." *ding

(Nicole Swift) "Discount Lotta Hart. The fact that they lampshade this later does nothing to erase the sin, by the way." *ding

"After having no idea how Logic works in the last game, Gumshoe is now explaining it to Swift like it's the most obvious thing in the world. See what happens when he's allowed to sleep before taking a case?" *ding

(A deflated Steel Samurai balloon in the lake AGAIN) "Aw dammit. They managed to shoe-horn the Steel Samurai into this, didn't they? After the last time this character appeared, I can't exactly say I was ready for a recurrence just yet." *ding

"Also, Turnabout Goodbyes reference. It wouldn't be a sin if it wasn't so obvious. They were already pushing it with us returning to Gourd Lake, and now-" *ding

(the logos on Swift's jacket include brands like "IKEO" and "C-R-US") "Obvious riffs on actual brand names." *ding

"Edgeworth could ask literally anyone else in the venue about the number of gunshots. It's not like he _has_  to get his information out of Swift, at least at this stage of the case. But yes, by all means. This is the perfect place to introduce the Logic Chess minigame." *ding

"Logic Chess: (exists)

"Psyche-Locks: Who are you?

"Logic Chess: I'm you, but cooler, without evidence-presenting, and  _not_  supernatural for no reason." *no sin

"Also, timed minigames. I like the addition of these, and honestly wish more AA games would use them." *still no sin

(Swift doesn't want to hand over what she knows) "Swift acts like she has a choice in the matter." *ding

"Edgeworth agrees to let Swift interview him after the conclusion of this case. We never see the results of said interview." *ding

"The Zheng Fa theme. It's patriotic, epic, and the longest song in the AA series to play before looping." *removes a sin

"Who still uses tapes in 2019? Or even 2011, for that matter?" *ding

"Tracking the bullet's trajectory in an investigation is a  _great_ tool that could have helped in several different cases. So naturally,  _none_  of the other games have us do it." *sin on the other games

"Game thinks laser pointers emit a continuous beam of light that easily indicates their user's position. In reality, they only leave a dot on what they're aimed at." *ding

"I love how a six shot revolver is supposedly banned in this universe, but Americans can walk around with assault rifles in the real world and face zero consequences. This may be one of the few instances in which the AA legal system has a leg up on the US's. And the fact that I can even type that is really a sin." *ding

(Kay jumps into the case) "Yay, but... how did she end up on top of the car? Where the heck was she standing  _before_  jumping down to meet us? This is never explained." *ding

("Long time, no see, Mr. Edgeworth!") "It's been  _ten day_ _s,_  Kay. Less, if you include the fact that she was probably a witness in Alba and/or Shih-na's trial. But I guess it would have been two years for the Japanese players to wait, and even longer for English-reading fans, so... sin for this game taking so long to reach us. And while we're on the subject, fuck Capcom." *ding

(Kay's pictures) "Seeing as this game was made in 2011, I think I can safely say that Kay is the inventor of the selfie craze." *ding

"Did Kay bring a Polaroid to this event? How else would she have physical copies of the photos already?" *ding

"De Killer walks around with his logo, the very item that allowed Edgeworth to be the first to identify De Killer in Farewell, on his suit jacket and Edgeworth doesn't recognize him. Even acknowledging that Edgeworth never met De Killer in person, Edgeworth is an idiot." *ding

"John Doe." *ding

"Game lets you skip confrontation tutorials if you want. This is one area in which the Investigations games  _lord_  over the main series, and I am grateful for it." *no sin

"When De Killer's wound bleeds through, the bloodstain disappears from the white sling after he wipes down it with a napkin. That's... not how blood works." *ding

"Rooke managed to land a hit on De Killer's arm without injury to himself. He did survive the encounter, but unfortunately didn't live to tell the tale long after that. Thanks a lot, Knightley. Taking out one of the game's greatest badasses before he can even say a word." *ding

"The ice cream sweats." *ding

"This game leveled up in comparison to its prequel in ensuring that the slicing sound effect and animation during Rebuttals are indeed synced. Sometimes it's the little things that get the greatest level of appreciation out of me. I don't know if it's worthy of a sin removal, though. Maybe just a shoutout." *no sin

(De Killer claims there was another individual with a red hood) "Well, we've just got a whole gang of them in this game, don't we? Almost reminds me of a certain company of detective comics and the origin of many a Joker story." *ding

"This Pursuit theme. It doesn't suit Edgeworth as well as the previous theme, but it's  _way_  more hype." *removes a sin

"The game does the dramatic pan-between-the-characters-to-see-who-interjected... only for none of the characters it pans to to be the one who interjected. So what was the point?" *ding

"Knightley's gun twirling." *ding

"Also, Horace Knightley." *ding

"Game waits until we're over an hour into the first case to properly murder mystery. A presidential assassination attempt as an opening move just wasn't exciting enough, I guess." *ding

"Speaking of being over an hour into the first case... this is easily the longest first case in the series. That should tell you right now just how long this game is gonna be. Hope you all brought snacks to this review." *ding

(De Killer takes Knightley as a hostage at knifepoint to continue the investigation) "While I'm not surprised that someone as crafty as De Killer managed to sneak a knife into a president's speech, I am disappointed that an assassin as smart as him thought killing the president with a close range weapon in front of a crowd would in any way be a good idea. Unless De Killer was planning to throw the knife, no way was he carrying out this job without exposing himself. Has he escaped the police's grasp so many times that he just doesn't feel like trying anymore? If so... I don't know who I'm sinning in this scenario, but it's definitely a sin." *ding

"Also, this Fate theme. What is it with de Killer and his ability to bring banging Fate themes into his cases?" *removes a sin

(Investigating the president's plane) "Explaining ballistic markings for the billionth time." *ding

"De Killer peaces out after searching the president's plane for thirty minutes to avoid being caught. What a shit ton of build up for (what feels until the finale like) a worthless character recurrence. One does not simply _waste_  one of the coolest characters in the series. Not without getting sinned, at least." *ding

("Huang" comes out) "This ham." *three sins for now

(The plane has extraterritorial rights) "Oh, not this shit again..." *ding

(Wind in the flags changes the bullet's trajectory, proving the assassination attempt was faked) "Knightley threatens to shoot a prosecutor in the head in front of several witnesses, one of which is a detective. Naturally, this action leads to no consequences whatsoever." *ding

"Swift never faces any consequences for being an accomplice to a fake assassination." *ding

(The president's muscles deflate through his mouth) "Cool, but... how?" *ding

"Knightley's Objection voice. I appreciate their getting fan voice actors for this, but seriously? He sounds like he's sneezing." *ding

"Knightley blames Rooke for dying, even though he's the one who killed him. Because that makes sense." *ding

"Can we please come up with better testimony names than just '(Name)'s Testimony/Logic'? Please?" *ding

"Knightley nearly shoots himself several times throughout this case. First of all, how is that not leaving a crap ton of bullet holes in the plane? Second of all, doesn't he know he has to wait until the second case to die? Calm down, will you?" *ding

(Switching the guns so that ballistic markings implicate Swift) "This is... actually, pretty clever. Not bad for a first case villain, huh?" *no sin

"That said... how did nobody notice him doing this? Sure, Edgeworth and 'Huang' were otherwise occupied, but that still leaves Kay, Gumshoe, and Swift, not to mention the other nameless bodyguards. Is the game expecting me to believe Knightley can load bullets into a gun behind his back? I think the game honestly wants me to believe that." *ding

"The only thing worse than Knightley's gun twirling animation... is his facial animation when zoomed out. He looks like a two-legged donkey." *ding

(Knightley's breakdown) "Where did 'Huang' get a Thinker statue? I though Larry only made two of these things. And how did Knightley not die from being hit on the head with one? Sure, he dies later, but from a _stabbing._ Did the statue lose its dark magic sometime between 2016 and now? How does that work, exactly?" *ding

"Also, the Samurai Dogs. This box has the red dot filled in, so... how did 'Huang' get his hands on evidence from a case that happened ten days ago? Shouldn't it still be in police custody? This makes even less sense than the Thinker Statue." *ding

("This game isn't over yet! You hear me?") "Well, duh. We're only on the first episode. Pretty sure Edgeworth already knows, but thanks for the reminder, I guess." *ding

("The rest of this 'game' will continue in the courtroom.") "No it won't. This is an Investigations game. We only have one real court scene, and that doesn't happen until the finale. Stop lying, Edgeworth." *ding

(Edgeworth points out that we still don't know who hired de Killer) "Foreshadowing the finale." *ding

("I hope this case doesn't turn into a larger incident...") "Hahahahahahahahahahaha. I'm sorry. Which game am I playing, again?" *ding

"Ending narration." *ding

**Total Sin Tally: 47**

**Sentence: Blinded with a laser pointer**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N's: Happy (American) President's Day, everyone! What better way to celebrate than to sin a case about presidential assassination? I'm looking forward to sinning more of this game, even if I acknowledge that it's going to take me forever. I was also glad to get a little bit of a break after sinning the first Investigations game. Here it is: the CS-style review of AAI2. Last one I'm doing for this series.
> 
> This may be my favorite game of the series, but that doesn't mean it won't have any sins. Just judging by the sheer length should tell you that I'm going to be finding quite a few. Also because the cases are so long, don't expect me to update very quickly. I still have other projects (and real life) to work on in addition, after all.
> 
> Thanks to everyone for reading, I hope you take the time to leave comments, and I will see you on the far side!


	2. Everything Wrong With: The Imprisoned Turnabout

"Creepy opening is creepy. Complete with horror music, flashing lights, and... bells?" *ding

"Edgeworth, Gumshoe, and Kay all think Knightley is intentionally making them wait, but my impression of suspect interrogations from the main series was that the defendant had no choice in when their interrogation took place and that they were forced to be prompt regardless of inclination. Shouldn't this be Edgeworth's first sign that something is seriously wrong here?" *ding

"Recap of an episode we literally just played." *ding

"Also, narration." *ding

"Culprit from a different case is the victim in the current case cliche origin. Though unless you want to include Inga from SoJ (he was more of a side culprit within the same case) and... possibly some DGS things that I don't want to invoke on an English-reading audience, this is really the only game that uses it." *ding

"Why is the prison entrance opened with a wheel?" *ding

"Who is the guy with the giant mustache in the portrait over the trophy cabinet? A young Grossberg?" *ding

(In the prison workroom) "Edgeworth asks Gumshoe to take a picture of the body with Kay's camera instead of waiting for the police to take photographs. It's almost like he knew ahead of time he wouldn't be the prosecutor assigned to this case and needed his own copies of the evidence... or something." *ding

"Kay steals Edgeworth's 'nook and cranny' line." *ding

(Shields mistakes Edgeworth for Manfred Von Karma) "A sick burn for Shields's very first lines of dialogue make for a  _great_  character introduction. Meet Raymond Shields, everybody!

"...That said, he did just insult Miles Edgeworth pretty hard. Do I reward Shields for wittiness, or sin him because I have a giant Edgeworth boner that is very displeased right now? How about both, at least for now?" *sin removed, then re-added

"Shields's hug fetish." *ding

"Also, his theme song." *removes a sin

"Shields gives us a pop quiz in which it is literally impossible to select the right answer. This is funny, but Edgeworth later comments that he too was only given the three wrong choices, so... how does that work in-universe, exactly?" *ding

(Electric shocks to ensure prisoners follow rules) "Torturing prisoners. So this is where Dual Destinies gets it." *three sins

"Zoo prison. I understand the pet therapy idea to an extent, but... did they need to include wild animals like polar bears and monkeys? Farm animals like ponies and pigs? Other than a pleasant sight gag, what possible purpose could this serve? The ethics of the situation alone are a nightmare." *ding

"And why are the animals allowed to wander around wherever? This case _proves_  that they can be trained to carry out criminal business, and besides: think of all the shit they'll leave everywhere!" *ding

"Before Elbird takes his hoodie off, he appears to have no eyes. This bothers me more than it should." *ding

"Also, Jay Elbird, despite his bird pun of a name, has a small polar bear as a companion, because... irony." *ding

(Logic Chess on Elbird) "The wrong options here (in which Edgeworth expresses willingness to enter a cage match with this dude) are waaaaaaay too tempting. Though that may just be because I played Marvel vs. Capcom a few too many times in procrastination for this game review." *ding

"Also, Edgeworth knows entirely too much boxing terminology to not be a secret fan. How many covert passions does he have?" *ding

"Shields threatens to tattle on Edgeworth to his dead father. Unless he's planning a trip to Kurain Village, the practicality of this threat leaves a lot to be desired. No, that doesn't take away from the emotional impact, but Edgeworth really shouldn't expect much to come of this." *ding

"Why is Elbird allowed to leave his cell for the testimony? The background in his testimony is clearly the rock structure we passed earlier." *ding

"Speaking of the rock structure, some of those rocks look pointy as shit. Why couldn't a murderer have killed Knightley on one of those things? Then we wouldn't have to spend half the case on an elaborate weapon search and this episode would lose half its... oh wait." *ding

"Prisoner casually reveals the existence of a prison smuggling ring to a prosecutor and a detective. And here I was thinking Elbird wanted to continue receiving items from Dogen." *ding

"And now Elbird is back in his cell. Not only that, but he points Edgeworth to the cell next to his and Edgeworth magically knows which one he was referring to. Judging by the presence of Polly in the other one, I think the cell on the player's left would have been much more interesting to investigate." *ding

"Justine Courtney and her pompous, repetitive organ music for a theme song. Because no matter how hard this song tries, it will never be Damon Gant's." *ding

"Courtney tells a prisoner they should be happy with their situation because they don't have to pay bills. Because that's not a headass thing to say to a bunch of riled-up murderers." *ding

(Courtney prays to the Goddess of Law) "So this is where Nahyuta gets it." *ding

("The PIC is supposed to check if prosecutors are doing their jobs correctly") "And they could not suck more at it." *ding

"Also, Courtney says Edgeworth is in hot water because he boarded and searched the president's plane, which has extraterritorial rights. The murder also, as it turns out, occurred on the plane, potentially ensuring Knightley's arrest to be outside the scope of American authority, or so the logic goes. But I have to ask: how is this any different from what Edgeworth did in Turnabout Ablaze? Is it because Edgeworth was kinda-sorta henching for Franziska at that time? He seems to have received all the credit for the events of that case, and Alba  _was_  tried in American courts as well as Allebahstian, so I wouldn't think that explanation holds much water. Not to mention... is no one going to bring up the complications presented by De Killer? He's the only reason Edgeworth searched the plane in the first place! If Edgeworth hadn't done what De Killer wanted, Knightley would have died a few days early. Even acknowledging this is probably just an excuse Blaise Debeste cooked up with 'Huang' to get Edgeworth out of their hair, it all feels very arbitrary and under-explained." *ding

"How has Gumshoe never heard of the PIC before now? Edgeworth was investigated by them in RftA as well, remember?" *ding

"Is Sebastian Debeste conducting his own theme music?" *ding

"Also, Sebastian Debeste. I may remove some of these sins later, but for now-" *let's start a tab

"Extendable gavels." *ding

(Back at Edgeworth's office) "Kay waited an entire day to protest Edgeworth's removal from the case. That is a  _lot_  more patience than I give her character credit for possessing. But at least they both got some sleep before tackling the case with a fresh mind. This game will  _not_  be like its prequel in that regard." *ding

"Edgeworth's ringtone is neither his theme song nor that of the Steel Samurai." *ding

(Meeting Keyes for the first time) "What an unassuming character introduction for the arc villain. I'll save most of my commentary for when his schemes are revealed, but let me start by saying how much I love this feeling of normalcy here. Especially coming off the main series, Keyes embodies your typical 'innocent defendant' in a way that nearly makes you roll your eyes. If this case hadn't set up a false impression so well here, the twist in the finale wouldn't have been anywhere near as memorable." *no sin

(Kay reads Edgeworth thoughts to question Keyes) "A good use of assistant powers." *still no sin

"That said, repeated dialogue is still repeated. And you know how we feel about that in these parts." *ding

(Gumshoe suggests Edgeworth borrow an attorney's badge so he can defend Keyes) "Bridge to the Turnabout reference. Not that it wouldn't work again, as far as we know. Phoenix hasn't lost his badge  _yet_. He still has a few weeks." *ding

"Speaking of Phoenix... is there a reason Edgeworth can't just ask Phoenix to come defend Keyes if he thinks the guy is so innocent? Other than Phoenix's Voldemort status, I mean? As far as we know, it's not like Phoenix is busy... unless this is when the crossover is supposed to take place and he's off getting ink-high in London, I guess." *ding

(The "eat free, live free in prison" sign) "These exist. I knew the private prison industry was getting out of hand, but I didn't know they had an advertising budget." *ding

(calling Keyes "shy monkeys") "Shields exposes one of the many puns in Keyes's name." *ding

"Kay says Edgeworth helping her out during Ablaze happened last month. It was two weeks ago." *ding

"Shields uses the phrase 'that man' in an Investigations game to refer to an individual who is not Phoenix Wright." *ding

"Patricia Roland." *ding

"Also, her boring-ass theme. Why give her one if it's so bland?" *ding

"Roland kisses Shields without his consent in front of a prosecutor, and her only consequences are a few light jokes from him and his assistant. Because that's not assault." *ding

(The recurrence of Frank Sahwit) "I understand why he's here, tenth anniversary and all that, but it doesn't change the fact that are literally ten other former culprits I would rather see in the case than this asshole. Fuck, even Godot ranked higher than this guy." *ding

"Sahwit's shoulders still annoy the shit out of me." *ding

"Part of Sahwit's lie about seeing the animal show includes the logic-defying addition of a whale. Sahwit has gotten no better at lying since his first appearance." *ding

(Claims that the dog is the killer) "Sorry, we're about a game too early for animal suspects. Please save all non-human accusations for the Dual Destinies DLC case." *ding

"Toupee toss, the redux." *ding

"Attempted corpse looting." *ding

(Dogen illuminates the room) "How did he light all those candles in under a second? And who converts their cell to a Buddhist temple? Was Dogen a monk before he was caught as an assassin? This is never explained." *ding

"Also, Sirhan Dogen. His theme song fits like a  _glove_." *removes a sin

(Dogen's prisoner number is "B-055") "Boss." *ding

(End of conversation with Dogen) "How did Anubis get out of the cell so quickly? The door was never opened." *ding

(Investigating Knightley's holding cell) "I love the book titles on the desk so much..." *no sin

"The recurrence of Shi-Long Lang. He's utilized about as well in this case as he was in the previous game." *ding

(Courtney, Shields, and Debeste return to the case after disappearing for a while) "If the Edgeworth Law Office is pro bono, how does Shields pay his rent every month? Does he have a side job? Does he live in the law office? Take donations? This is never explained." *ding

"Sebastian's arguments in this case. All of them." *ding

"Sebastian and Kay take a break from the investigation to make name puns. Game has time for this." *ding

(Confronting Keyes about his occupation) "Fainting in cou- mid-investigation cliche." *ding

"The recurrence of Money the Monkey. As long as we don't get Moe up in this bitch, I'll only sin the Big Top character recurrences once." *ding

(Edgeworth, Keyes, and Kay bond over their dead fathers) "I didn't find any new sins in this part, but it did occur to me just how great this case is at sewing the seeds for what's to come in the greater story. Between Dogen and Knightley's chess match and Keyes's comments about his family, this case excels at foreshadowing in ways so subtle that you don't even realize what's happening until you're several chapters into the finale. Other games in the series have done overarching plots, certainly, but none to the degree and level of finesse as this one. The only game I can think of that operates on a similar(/grander) scale is DGS2. Why do all the games like this not get English translations, dammit! I know the _fans_  are working on getting us the first DGS, but come on Capcom!" *the rest of the comment wasn't a sin, but the last statement was

(Edgeworth says he doubts "someone as timid as Keyes could work up the courage to murder someone") "Irony." *ding

(In the courtyard investigation) "What did Kay do to piss off the elephant so much? We left her alone with it for three seconds." *ding

"Also, Kay thinks the elephant was trying to eat her. She... does know elephants are herbivores, right?" *ding

"I would sin Shields hitting on Regina at this stage of the case, but it  _has_  been long enough since Turnabout Big Top that I'm pretty sure Regina is legal now. She may well be married to Max Galactica, however, so... actually, never mind my hesitation." *ding

(Kay briefly tries to recruit Regina into the second Yatagarasu) "Game has time for this. It does realize its own length, right?" *ding

(The forbidden love story between an elephant and a tiger) "Game makes me picture ele-tiger babies. It's Shrek all over again, goddammit!" *ding

"When talking to Regina, Astique the elephant disappears from her pen. Where does she go?" *ding

"If Dogen wasn't allowed to (and not physically able to) see the Animal Show, why would they bother to leave a seat for him? This is never explained." *ding

"I have yet to learn what all seven of Gumshoe's 'secret weapons' are, but one of them is still a fishing pole, and that is still a sin." *ding

(Gumshoe eats all of Dogen's chocolate cake) "Gumshoe faces no consequences for this." *ding

"You know how I know this is the most unremarkable case in the game? There was an entire-ass jailbreak for a subplot and I'd forgotten about it completely. Once again, Yamakazi has found a way to make  _escaping from prison_  boring as shit." *ding

(Edgeworth promises to give up his badge if Courtney and Sebastian's logic proves correct instead of his) "I find it funny how they resolve this issue. Both parties end up being wrong, so they kinda just forget this wager ever happened and move on with the case. Why make the wager in the first place, then? Do we not get enough threats made to Edgeworth's badge later down the line?" *ding

"Courtney says Edgeworth mentioned the security camera yesterday. That was earlier today." *ding

"Knightley's guard has been unconscious for the past two days from a fight with a prisoner behind bars. How fucking convenient." *ding

(Courtney throws Sebastian under the bus when their joint logic gets a hole poked in it by Edgeworth) "For a character who's supposed to be the more motherly and supportive figure for Sebastian, she sure does this a lot." *ding

"Also, Courtney's argument relies on the fact that no one noticed Knightley wasn't in his detention cell for an entire night... even though Edgeworth has video footage that (everyone currently thinks) depicts the contrary. Not to mention, this assumes that all the guards in the detention center suck serious ass at their jobs, far beyond the general incompetence of police in this series. Recall once again that Knightley was the only person held in the detention center at this time. His surrounding cells were empty. We know that, not including the guard who was attacked, there are at least two guards for the detention center alone. But supposedly neither one of them noticed Knightley missing for roughly twelve hours? The fuck were they supposedly doing, then? Remind me how this judge's argument held as long as it did again?" *ding

"Courtney laughs at the prospect of Gumshoe being fired... again. For the same offense as last time, no less." *ding

"Dogen makes himself (and his dog) look suspicious for no apparent reason. The only possibility I can think of is that he wants to protect Keyes from a murder charge, but even that seems unlikely. Recall that Dogen didn't mind Keyes going to prison in the finale. He only cared that Keyes might have been killed." *ding

"Edgeworth also thinks the events of the previous chapter happened yesterday, when only the Beginning did. What is it with these characters and their inability to keep the days straight?" *ding

"Mr. Analysis. I like the idea as a minigame (even if cases like Serenade have overused it), but this name is stupid." *just so we're clear what the sin is

"Long tutorials." *ding

"If the bear left muddy pawprints in the tunnel from following after Elbird, why didn't it leave pawprints on the way into the tunnel as well? Elbird had no opportunity to clean them, so who did? When and why did they do this?" *ding

"A case with Sahwit also features a clock that was off by three hours... coincidence?" *ding

(Questioning Elbird) "Unlike its prequel, this game has zero problem with using Confrontation: Presto on non-culprit characters. I do appreciate the upgrade." *no sin

"So let me get this straight: the guards searched Knightley and his holding cell for the key, but failed to notice the giant tunnel under the bed? Maybe these guards are as bad at their jobs as Courtney claims." *ding

"When Elbird knocked Knightley (who already had a neck injury) out, he was back up in a few minutes. When Elbird knocked the guard out, he went unconscious for two days. Seems logical." *ding

"Elbird says he only dug half the tunnel. The diagram disagrees." *ding

"Elbird, Rocky, Anubis, and Knightley's body were all using the tunnel at the same time, but Elbird never saw Knightley's body and Rocky's path wasn't blocked by it either. Not only that, but Rocky never got in Anubis's way and Anubis had finished dragging the body out and removing the weapon in time for Elbird and Rocky to return to Elbird's cell. This whole string of logistics played out  _perfectly_  by sheer coincidence." *ding

"Also, we sent Kay down this tunnel. How did she not notice the well opening? Shouldn't the light pouring down from above have been a dead giveaway?" *ding

"Did Courtney only apply lipstick to part of her mouth? It looks weird." *ding

"Is this the only investigation intentionally spread out over multiple days? Sure, Ablaze had us working through the night, and Inherited features flashbacks between two entwined cases, but I think this is the only case to make like the main series and force us to solve the case over three days' time." *not really a sin, I guess

"Mid-case narration." *ding

(In the courtyard the next day) "Recapping shit we literally just found out." *ding

"According to Courtney's logic, Knightley was stabbed during a live animal show observed by nearly everyone in the prison. If that's the case... even if the well was perfectly obscured from view, how did no one hear Knightley scream before- oh yeah. I forgot stabbing victims never scream in this universe. Silly me." *ding

"The return of Little Thief. With upgrades, no less." *removes a sin

(Keyes's flying trick) "Flying defendants _again_? (Sighs)" *ding

(Using the metal detector again) "Between this and Polly's cameo, how many Turnabout Goodbyes references are they planning for this game? Do they not get their fill in the next case alone?" *ding

"This beeping noise." *ding

(Alligator ate something metal) "Consuming key evidence cliche." *ding

"Also, animal abuse." *ding

(Courtney questions why Edgeworth would ever act in the defense's interests if he is a prosecutor) "He's bi-benchinal. Didn't you hear?" *ding

(Accusing Roland of the murder) "I just realized: Roland has the same facial wrinkles as Morgan Fey. This should have been our first clue to suspect her." *ding

(Exposing Sahwit as an accomplice) "Roland's shocked animation involves her eyes rolling backwards into their sockets. Because that's not creepy." *ding

"Game tries to make me feel bad for Roland because Dogen was threatening her. Sorry, but... I  _have_  played the final two cases of this game." *ding

"Shields is entirely too happy while admitting he made Edgeworth do all his investigating for him." *ding

"Pressing Roland about her suspicions basically amounts to: 'all my prisoners are good children... except Dogen. Fuck Dogen'. Not that I'm surprised, but-" *ding

"Shields teaching Edgeworth how to be a good defense attorney is nice and all, but... couldn't they have made the effort to ensure the Shields/Edgeworth defense creed varied even slightly from Phoenix's? If not, then Edgeworth should already know all this shit. He's gone up against 'the man in the blue suit' enough times to know. Fuck, he even pretended to be Phoenix for a day, months before this case every came around. All I'm saying is that I don't think this is Edgeworth's first ride on the horse, here." *ding

"The ironic thing about Roland's actions, here? If she hadn't tried so hard to frame Dogen, Keyes, the man with a greater connection to Dogen than anyone else in the game, totally would have gone down for the murder of Horace Knightley. That means the last two episodes of this game would never have happened, and Roland's role in the SS-5 incident would never have been revealed. Culprit accidentally foils their own plot." *ding

"Edgeworth says the murder weapon is still in the prison because of the security gates, but... is there anything stopping somebody from chucking it over the wall of this place? Flushing it down the toilet? Throwing it out wrapped in garbage? It's been two days, is all I'm saying. If Roland wasn't an animal abusing dumbass, this shit would not be as hard as it is. The episode wouldn't be as long, either." *ding

"Edgeworth gives himself a pep talk through internal monologuing for the third time in as many minutes. All time estimates are approximate." *ding

"Sebastian's baton whacking. Surprised it took me this long to sin it, to be honest." *ding

(Roland's breakdown) "...How many live animals was she  _wearing_? And why no bra?" *ding

"Keyes is supposedly sad his best friend didn't let him in on the murder-y aspects of his life, but is cheered by the fact that Knightley supposedly took him for a fool enough to smuggle his tools for escape into the detention center. And that fact cheers him up... how, exactly?" *ding

(Shields's offer for Edgeworth to become a defense attorney triggers) "DL-6 flashbacks. Are we ever going to go an entire game without those? We may well have, but it sure doesn't feel like it." *ding

"Also, it occurs to me that I'm sinning DL-6 flashbacks... in a game where the next case is fifty percent (leadup to) DL-6 flashbacks. So really, what's the appropriate course of action, here? How about I also sin myself and get on with it? This review is four thousand words already. That's pretty long for a mere second episode." *ding

**Total Sin Tally: 111**

**Sentence: The Disciplinary Room**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N's: And here it is, my review for The Imprisoned Turnabout. I was a little hesitant regarding how to approach this case at first. On the one hand, it's not very remarkable on the first go round, and arguably more complicated than it had any right to be. But on the other hand, it did a lot of good work in setting up revelations in the finale, which justified some of the extra complications. So while I mostly focused on the episode in isolation, and didn't take or remove any sins for how the finale builds on the case (not in this episode, at least. I may well remove sins in the finale), I still made sure to acknowledge several of the points that come up later.
> 
> While this review is not as long as that for SoJ's The Magical Turnabout, it did beat Magical in number of sins (111 to 105), becoming the hardest-sinned second episode in the AA games that I will cover. For the curious, SoJ continues to possess the hardest-sinned first episode, with The Foreign Turnabout receiving 83.5 sins.
> 
> Also, since DD was my first game to sin and it had been a few years, I realized I no longer agreed with some of the sins that game received. Its chapters have all been edited, if slightly. This has changed the game's sin count as well.
> 
> Other than that update, thanks for reading, Happy St. Patrick's Day, and I will see you on the far side!


	3. Everything Wrong With: The Inherited Turnabout

(Opening) "Is Yamakazi determined to fit musical numbers into every AA game he directs, starting here? That's an odd goal to have for a murder mystery meets courtroom satire series, but I guess he's determined to go for it." *ding

(Shields turns off his TV to perform...) "Opening narration." *ding

"How did Shields know ahead of time his trip to Master Manor would uncover the truth of eighteen years past? Did he know what Hall was planning to do to expose the true culprit, or that Hall still had Dover's body after all these years? If so... how? If not, why the boastful objective?" *ding

(Gameplay begins) "Shields wants to 'share the romance of the constellations' with the son of his former boss, the same son toward whom he once promised to serve as an older brother figure. Because that's not creepy." *ding

(Edgeworth describes the IS-7 incident to the players for a bit) "More narration. I get they had to prepare players for the flashback portion  _somehow_ , but we aren't even three minutes in yet. Lighten up, would you?" *ding

(Entering the flashback section) "Playing as Gregory Edgeworth. First time through, I was more surprised than anything, but on subsequent runs, I've come to realize that Gregory Edgeworth is everything I like about his son wrapped in the package of a wizened defense attorney, a figure arguably more suited to cases in this spinoff series than even the main character. He's also the oldest playable protagonist yet to grace the series at this time, though Phoenix ties him in Spirit of Justice." *removes a sin

"Eighteen years difference, and the detention center visiting room looks the exact same as it did in the previous episode. Even the camera model and wall poster don't seem to have changed." *ding

"Gregory Edgeworth feels the need to introduce himself after our present characters spent four minutes narrating with that very objective." *ding

"The guard's jazz hands." *removes a second sin

"Also, Jeff Master." *third sin removed. Last one for a while

(Shields and Master preform the musical number from the opening) "Yes, cute dancing, but... did we really have to play the same song twice in a seven minute span? I don't think we needed to play the song twice in a seven minute span. If this case turns into the next Serenade, I swear to God I will sin it to  _oblivion_." *ding

(At the mansion with Hall) "More dancing and singing. This time, we're thirteen minutes in. Yaaaaaaaaay..." *two sins

"The recurrence of Tyrell Badd  _and_  his theme song. I would remove another sin, but I'm residually pissed off about the dancing still, so-" *no sin

"Shields eats paper." *ding

"Dane Gustavia's theme song. It's cool and all, but considering how much darker and more intense it is than the rest of the case's soundtrack? Talk about a culprit giveaway!" *half-sin

"Also, Dane Gustavia." *ding

"Even though Shields is the only male to ever fully assume the teenage assistant role, he has no problem engaging in the stereotypes associated with it to the point I almost expected him to get kidnapped/accused at some point in this case." *ding

(Arguing with Detective Badd) "Detective Badd is the only character to refrain from singing  _that song_  when questioned about his love for  _Piece of Cake._ Good on him for showing restraint, but sin on everyone else for their lack thereof." *ding

(Narrating about what an awful person Manfred Von Karma is to face in court) "Ending chapter narration. With a recap of the first game, no less." *ding

(Von Karma's dramatic entrance out of the candy castle) "Hilarious, but... how long was he waiting in there? Why not announce himself earlier? Was he just hanging out in the castle at least since Gregory came in, eavesdropping for the perfect time to jumpstart his role in the case? We're here more than a year before DL-6 ever happens, and Von Karma is already established to value dramaticism over logic." *ding

"And with regards to this entrance, Badd later complains that standing inside the candy castle got his shoes covered in frosting, but Von Karma never makes such a comment... presumably to not call attention to his mildly embarrassing state. We never see him clean off his shoes, however, so I can only assume he silently tracked frosting all over the mansion during this investigation day. Not very perfectionistic of you to sully a crime scene, Von Karma." *ding

"Also, Von Karma isn't even fifty yet in this case, but he already looks the same way he does in Turnabout Goodbyes, at which point the dude is sixty-five. Does this mean Von Karma ages slowly or quickly? I can never be sure on this point." *ding

" _Also_  also... they're still using Franziska's Great Revival theme for this guy? What a terrible misappropriation of music. I know I sinned this in the last game, but if the series is going to keep committing this sin, I'm going to keep sinning them for it." *another half-sin

(Scones refers to Von Karma as "Manny") "No, actually. Manny Coachen is that son of a bitch smuggler who murdered Cece Yew in the previous game and got away with it until he was murdered by Quercus Alba during a live show at the Theatrum Neutralis. Not that I'd expect you to know that, of course." *ding

"For the second time in as many games, Badd is pissed with Von Karma for putting him on babysitting duty over an Edgeworth. Well chronologically, this is actually the first time, but Badd doesn't seem to realize that. He even says 'I'm babysitting  _again_ ', which implies he is aware of what happened in the 2012 case. That, or this is an extremely common occurrence when working under Von Karma as a detective. Either way-" *ding

"What caused the swticheroo in detectives from Von Karma's cohort to Badd? Von Karma clearly didn't want it to happen, and they switch back later anyway, so why keep Badd around in the interim? Was it really  _only_  so the animators wouldn't have to design another detective character for use on-screen?" *ding

"Scones and her huge anime eyes. I wouldn't be sinning it if literally anyone else in the game were drawn in such an obviously different style. Even though Badd deviates from the norm slightly, it doesn't detract from the game nearly as much. Looking at her is like visual foreshadowing of the Layton crossover." *ding

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask this: why is Badd listed as our investigation partner and not Shields? I agree Badd's the more competent of the two, but he and Gregory aren't officially working together while Gregory and Shields are. So what's up with this?" *ding

(Arguing with Von Karma) "Gregory's shocked animation ends with him smiling. It rarely suits the circumstances of use, so... why?" *ding

(Scones the pharmacist) "Scones claims she only entered the contest to eat Master's food, but... why did she have to enter the contest to do that? Yes, I know she has a fuller motive later, but take Scones at her word for the moment. Was no one outside the judges and contestants allowed to eat any of the food prepared for this contest? If so... what a waste!" *ding

"And while we're on the subject, I have serious questions about how this contest was run. Master was the judge, right? If so, why was he also a participant? And how does one effectively judge three works made of entirely different materials against each other? Comparing candy to sherbet is like comparing apples to oranges, dammit! And since the Angel Recipe is a list of drugs, not actual desserts, why did Master want to give it away to a bunch of pastry chefs? Even given his explanation later about wanting to rid himself of his legacy as a pharmacist, didn't he realize the inclusion of such a prize would attract the entirely wrong crowd? Why not make the prize a feature segment on  _Piece of Cake_ , or anything that would be slightly more logical in this scenario? Master may not be the first to sacrifice the integrity of his event in the name of a murder mystery (the Gavinner's concert certainly comes to mind, here), but his is an egregious example of an endemic series problem. And considering the conclusions of this past case set the stage for at  _least_ the first trilogy of this series, it has no right to be this confusing." *ding

(The sherbet in Dover's room melted, allowing Shields to segway into) " _More_  narration? God, how much does this case need? Is this really the only way the writers could think of to transition between past and present sections? I... agree it's better than the MASON System's way, but not by much." *ding

(Because the Initial Trial System wasn't in place yet, IS-7 carried on for an entire year) "Holy shit! I knew Master was rich, but do people have any concept of how much a yearlong trial would cost in legal fees? Gregory Edgeworth and Manfred Von Karma must be the most stubborn attorneys in the whole series to not have come to a deal after a  _year_  of duking it out in court. That judge must have been so done with their shit after waiting twelve months to deliver a verdict. You do realize none of these parties were taking other cases in the meantime, right? And considering the fame of the defendant, this case also would have been  _so_  widely publicized, meaning that if Von Karma hadn't killed Gregory, this would have been his ticket into attorney superstardom. He would have been a regular name on the news, the way Michael Avenatti was in the US before facing fraud charges. Newscasters would have been hyping Gregory up as the start of Von Karma's end every day for  _months_. No wonder Manfred Von Karma was pissed by the end of this case! Doesn't justify anything he did, but... damn!" *ding

(The DeLites and John Marsh make background cameos in the Winter Palace) "The DeLite couple plan a heist in public hearing. One eavesdropper is even a prosecutor who is already on the hunt for suspicious details. So naturally, the DeLites face no threat of inquiry for their actions." *ding

"Also, if John Marsh is here, doesn't that mean Courtney is already nearby? This doesn't seem like the sort of place Marsh would come to on his own, so his mother must have taken him. But if that's true... why do we never see Courtney and Marsh interact in this case? Why does no one mention her being present here in advance? Courtney's personal, motherly side should have been revealed in this case, but it wasn't. I bet the artists just thought they were being clever by inserting a character from a future case in early and didn't pause to consider whether it actually made sense." *ding

"Taurus and Gemini are sun signs from the spring, not the winter. I guess we're going by when the constellations are visible in the sky and not when they intersect the sun's path, then? That still doesn't explain why there's only two statues in here when there should be three for each season, but you know what? I'm not gonna overthink this one. I'm only going to sin it." *ding

"Everyone behaves as though they're only mildly affected by standing in a below freezing room in nothing but their normal attire. It's Bridge to the Turnabout all over again, goddammit! If the museum was serious about keeping their displays cold like this, then they should at least provide coats upon entry. Otherwise, some idiot is going to catch something and sue the place." *ding

(Hearing a scream out at the Fountain Patio) "Edgeworth sure pants heavily for someone who only ran a short distance." *ding

(Gustavia faints from poison gas inhalation) "Incident from x years ago is related to today cliche. I realize this means I'm sinning the entire premise of the case here, but the cliche aspect  _is_  undeniable, so..." *ding

"Edgeworth insists there's poison gas in the building, and the museum is not immediately evacuated in its entirety. I don't care if the trap was only set in one room, this mansion has ventilation, no? Most emergency procedures state that the entire building should be abandoned until poison control clears the building for reentry. People should be waiting outside in the gardens. And since the museum did not evacuate the building... yeah, that's grounds for a lawsuit." *ding

"Wow, so many reasons to sue this place... who did Hall pay to advise her on this museum? Fire that person." *ding

"Game decides Larry needs to recur as a witness... again. And he's back in his Laurice persona after abandoning it in the last game just to spite me." *ding

"Shields wants to pick up chicks off of Larry. That is a terrible idea." *ding

(Hall in the present) "Well.  _Someone_  got breast implants between the ages of 18 and 36. Not that I'm complaining, mind you." *I don't sin boobs in this game

"That said... older Katherine Hall is  _hot._ I feel no shame for removing a sin here." *removes a sin

"In the present-time redux of IS-7, the roles of Tyrell Badd and Manfred Von Karma are filled by Dick Gumshoe and Sebastian Debeste, respectively. Talk about a downgrade, at least where competence is concerned." *ding

("But no matter how much I ran and ran and and ran and ran...") "'And and ran'. This may be the game with the fewest typos, but that doesn't mean there are none to speak of. Here is one example." *ding

("Why would the Autumn Palace be set to the same temperature as the Winter Palace?") "Maybe because both contain ice sculptures that lose their integrity when melted? I doubt the temperature is adjusted by... (checks the pamphlet) holy shit, the temperatures  _are_ adjusted by season in this museum. But then... how are the summer sculptures still solid, then? And before you jump to tell me their temperature was controlled internally... if that were true, condensation on the glass would ensure that nobody could see the sculptures made for warmer months, rendering this gallery pointless. No matter which way the cookie crumbles, there is a sin in every direction." *ding

(Logic Chess on Larry) "This was considered a worthwhile way to waste game time. Hey, at least it's better than the Psyche Locks from T&T." *ding

"And once again, the wrong options (in which Edgeworth thoroughly roasts Larry on his artistry) are waaaaaaay too tempting. It's answers like these that motivate me to never succeed on a Logic Chess segment my first try." *ding

"Larry drew a picture of an absurd but true but misunderstood aspect of the case cliche." *ding

(Sebastian and Courtney show their faces) "Gumshoe has his pay cut by the only current member of law enforcement who is less competent than him. That's  _gotta_ hurt." *ding

"Edgeworth defends Gumshoe from taking another paycut... then prevents Sebastian from giving Gumshoe a raise. I guess because he was already planning to raise Gumshoe's pay at the end of the game and didn't want a rookie stealing his thunder?" *ding

(The names of the chemicals are Normallium and Fatallium and the pesticide for Fatallium is Megatoxin X) "(Sighs) Put these asshats on the shelf next to 'Incuritis' and 'Coldkiller X', would you? I don't care if the latter is because both products were made by the same company because all three names are stupid as shit." *ding

(Larry insults Sebastian) "You know your logic sucks when Larry 'I went down the chimney because I was inspired by Santa Claus in March' Butz is calling you an idiot. Larry doesn't have a leg to stand on here, but he's also not wrong, so... do I sin it? How about just a half-sin?" *half sin awarded

(Kay comments on Sebastian's lack of understanding re: incapable) "'You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means'. This reference did not make it here into the final version of the game." *ding

"Hey, I have a question about this room: if it was designed to imitate the Winter Palace, it should be below freezing in here as well, right? Well, ignore the fact that everyone in here is talking normally for a minute and acknowledge the puddles of water on the floor. Shouldn't those be frozen by now? If so, how has no one slipped and fallen on those ice patches yet? If not... the Pisces statue is exposed in the room, here. How has it not visibly melted in the warmer temperature yet? No matter which way you slice it, the conditions of this room do not adhere to logic in any way." *ding

"Courtney declares a ten minute court recess... mid-investigation." *ding

(Scones in the present) "The animators didn't even _try_  to give this character an older look, because... effort, I guess? Seriously, they don't even change her clothes." *ding

"Scones nicknames Miles Edgeworth after a faded pop star. Poor Edgey." *ding

(While using Little Thief) "Kay and Shields use the description of Pisces's glass case to insult Edgeworth's facial features. Some assistants they are!" *ding

"Theft report acceptance certificates." *ding

(Dover's body shows up in the fountain after the Winter Palace statues melted) "I don't care if his body was frozen in ice. It's been  _eighteen years_. Even hardcore believers in cryonics state that the body has to be preserved at -130 degrees Celsius to prevent damage to biological tissue. Even if  _all_  of Dover's corpse had been frozen at _all_  times since the turn of the century, it still should show serious signs of decay due to the relatively higher temperature. The image here is some bullshit." *ding

"Also, how deep is that fountain? How big are the waterways such that an adult male body can float through them? Better question:  _why_ are they so big? That must have been hella expensive to install, and with no discernible benefit whatsoever. Once again, the defense's (or prosec- no, just  _Edgeworth's_ ) case is saved due to poor architectural planning." *ding

(We enter another flashback section) "The IS-7 reminiscence theme. All the reminiscence themes in this game are good, but this one has the perfect sense of longing and bitter retrospection and I am here for it." *removes a sin

(Back in the past, we lean that Hall is Master's adopted child) "And so the parent/child theme of this game comes into play. Expect to see a lot more stories like Hall's from here on out. You can argue the theme itself was introduced with the invocation of Edgeworth's father, but the game doesn't really call attention to the idea until this point." *not really a sin

(Gregory doesn't mind taking a picture because he's "confident in his hairstyle today") "Says the man wearing a hat indoors." *ding

(Badd joins Gregory in finding the truth of the case, regardless of Von Karma's punishments) "Considering the amount of pull Von Karma had at the time and how obsessed he was with control, I'm surprised Badd got away with doing this as much as he did. We see Badd tackling high profile cases like KG-8 and the Yatagarasu thefts nine and twelve years after this, so whatever detriment this move had on his career clearly wasn't permanent. Not as permanent as Gregory's, at least." *ding

(Hall caused Dover's Gemini and Taurus sculptures to melt accidentally) "Hall is a dumbass. She couldn't have plugged the cord back in after tripping? How do you pull a cord and not notice? And yes, I know this is a lie. It's the fact that this lie stands for eighteen years (and a yearlong trial) that pisses me off." *ding

"Gregory (and, as we discover, Von Karma) forgo Christmas morning with their families in favor of investigating their case. Seeing as both attorneys have young children and both (in their own way) care about being a good father, they sure have an awful work/life balance going on, here." *ding

"Also, I can understand Von Karma's interrogations being very stressful, but... enough to turn  _every single one_  of Master's hairs white? Really, game?" *ding

"Smuggling chocolates in the Detention Center to a hypoglycemic pastry chef. There's a sentence I never thought I'd type until today." *ding

(Master sings upon eating chocolate) "Glad he's feeling better, but... really? Is this the best use of your already limited energy, Master?" *ding

(Master has hypogeusia) "Instead of the obscure memory disorders of later cases, this episode features obscure taste disorders afflicting various pastry chefs. In other words, irony." *ding

"Master tells eighteen year old Hall not to live for his sake in her adult life, and her response is to completely ignore his advice. Instead, she pursues fame and fortune solely to buy Master's home back and attempts murder on the man whose actions put Master in prison. Good job, Kate. Good job." *ding

(Gregory muses on how a parent would want their children to choose their own path in life) "Gregory knows the resolution to his son's main conflict in this game over eighteen years before anyone else does. Too bad he wasn't able to pass on that knowledge, huh? Then again, if he was, this series wouldn't exist, so- I just talked myself out of a sin, didn't I? I hate it when that happens." *no sin

(Hall was helping Scones win the contest) "So between this and the Dover/Gustavia partnership...  _all_  the finalists in the dessert contest got to where they were by cheating and collusion? What a great message that sends. I can only imagine how the chefs who got eliminated in previous rounds felt. Especially when this detail gets exposed in trial later." *ding

"Gustavia made a statue of Von Karma out of candy. We never get to see this creation." *ding

("My wife is an amateur, yet her cooking rivals that of world class chefs!") "Is this care he shows for family the only hint of a redeeming quality present in Von Karma's entire character? Why yes, yes it is. And the fact that one line of dialogue is enough to give us insight into why Franziska still loves her father years after coming to terms with his flaws is really something to be amazed at." *no sin

(Chain of logic proving Dover's body is still missing) "Some smooth-ass deduction. Even if the chain does only have two links." *removes a sin

(Confronting Von Karma about hiding the loss of the body) "Gregory Edgeworth is a badass. Talk about an Ascended Extra!" *removes another sin

"...That said, I wish this character wasn't so similar to Mia Fey in that he only achieves playability years after his death, severely limiting the sort of cases Gregory is free to take on. It also means that the past portion of the case has a foregone conclusion because we know Von Karma never lost a case until Turnabout Goodbyes. So as much as I love Gregory here, his role is unfairly restricted by the plots of previous games and I am sadder for it." *ding

(How the IS-7 trial concluded) "Now I'm curious: who would ever want to serve as one of Von Karma's 'police cronies'? He's terrible to work under! Does Von Karma help them get paid better? Do they share his insane zeal to convict every person ever arrested? What's the mook's motive in this whole scheme?" *ding

"Rip Lacer. He was actually the detective that  _got_ replaced by Badd in the beginning. He only became the 'replacer' after Von Karma booted Badd off again after a day. I get pun name has to pun name, but the pun can at least be accurate, no?" *ding

(The IS-7 case file was tampered with, stating that Master is in jail for murder and not as an accomplice) "Ooh, forgery. But... would this actually do anything? Considering who was involved, the IS-7 would have to have been a widely publicized case, and the resolution even more so. Even if the official case file was altered, the press still would have reported the verdict as it was laid down back in 2001. The judge should remember what verdict he gave, and besides: I have a hard time believing this was the only written record ever kept on the IS-7 incident among the police. Even if Von Karma rewrote the charge for the sole purpose of fucking with Edgeworth, he's still assuming Edgeworth would never do any further digging into the last case of his father's life. And that is- well,  _should be_  some bullshit." *ding

"Shields brought the entirety of the IS-7 evidence file with him to Master Manor on the off chance that he might be given a reason to reopen the investigation into IS-7. Either Shields knew/was in on Hall's plot, or he has pleased the scriptwriter gods in order to ensure that plan works per... hm. This sin feels eerily familiar to me. I can't think of where I might have written it before." *ding

"Sebastian's ringtone is neither his theme nor that of the Steel Samurai." *ding

(Investigating the Fountain Patio) "Kay adds Scones's slang to her everyday vocabulary. It did not need to end up in her everyday vocabulary." *ding

"Edgeworth and Larry mutually declare each other best friends in this episode, leaving Phoenix out in the cold." *ding

"Also, Edgeworth is offered a position as a model for Larry's portraits. He never takes Larry up on this offer." *ding

(Sketch of beauties) "Larry makes another weird yet true yet misunderstood painting for the second time this case. The first time was more than enough." *ding

(Sebastian threatens to steal Hall's teapot for himself as part of the investigation) "That's not legal." *ding

(Edgeworth eats some of Hall's chocolates) "Reusing dialogue across father and son to showcase their similarity is still reused dialogue, just so we're clear. And you know how we feel about reused dialogue in these parts." *ding

(Both Dover and Gustavia's sons went missing shortly after IS-7 occurred) "Foreshadowing." *ding

(Edgeworth tells Debeste that he has no business being a prosecutor if he can't understand why "winning" isn't important) "We get both foreshadowing and a callback in the same line of dialogue. I'm not sure whether to be impressed, or si- oh fuck it, who am I kidding?" *ding

"Katherine Hall thinks one uses laundry detergent to wash dishes. Katherine Hall is wrong." *ding

"Hall openly admits that her museum (set up in her own home) has zero security. No wonder the DeLites were conspiring to rob this place!" *ding

("'Thinking the other way around'? Did my father do that too?") "I know, it's like every defense attorney protagonist has the exact same method and creed in this universe. Because that isn't boring. You can have a slightly different set of morals and still be sympathetic, you know." *ding

(Hall sings in her testimony, much to Edgeworth's chagrin) "Glad to know Edgeworth feels as I do about the singing in this case, but is there no way for him to make her stop? This case is too good to turn into the next Serenade, goddammit." *ding

"How was Hall able to preserve both the body and the sculptures for eighteen years? While I do believe a mansion like this would have the materials to do so, recall that Hall was kicked out of this place shortly after Master's conviction. Master's blood relatives took the mansion back, preventing Hall from accessing the area's freezers while she was penniless. I doubt she was able to afford an alternative storage unit at this time, so... were Master's relatives in on her plot? Did they never check the freezer for their entire tenure of ownership? The fuck is this bullshit?" *ding

(How Hall stole the sculptures and the body from under the police's noses) "This explanation raises waaaaaaaay more questions than it answers. First of all: is the game saying that nobody walked in on Hall loading Dover's sculptures onto the trolley? It doesn't seem like something she could do quickly, at least not without breaking anything, and there should have been police  _all over_  the patio area. What guarantee did Hall have that no one could catch her doing this? Being the witness that discovered the body (and not to mention, Master's adopted daughter) how did she even have the time? Shouldn't she have been questioned (and watched) extensively? Is the game telling me that fragile ass sherbet statues can be turned on their side with no ill effects? Also... didn't she have to pull this stunt twice, once per sculpture? She also took the ice blocks that went with, so... four times, then? That's a lot of time to be moving back and forth under(what should be) close surveillance without being noticed or stopped. Finally, were the sculptures originally in a rectangular container? If so, how was Master suppose to remove them from said container to taste the dessert as part of the judging? If not, where did Hall get said container and how did she get the statue into it for transport? She later says something about having the cases 'as per the rules', but that doesn't explain much. The container has to be there at this point, though, or else the ruse fails in two seconds.

"...Yeah, you can definitely tell this is the same guy who wrote Turnabout Ablaze. I don't want to sin it  _quite_  as hard as the statue bullshit from the previous game, but this stunt still deserves a considerable number of sins." *how about... ten

"One more thing I find hard to believe: the IS-7 trial lasted for a  _year_. I'm sure the statue drama came up during that time. Why did Hall never confess her true deeds to the court? If she'd presented the statues and (without knowing it) the body as well, especially if she did so without giving Von Karma the chance to tamper with it, Master may well have been saved! Did she tell Von Karma eventually, and he shut her down? That would explain how Von Karma was able to corner Master by threatening Hall's freedom, but not much else." *ding

"Does Courtney bring a book on statutes of limitations everywhere she goes, or just to murder investigations? Is it part of a series she's been using to teach Sebastian competence? I can never be sure on this one." *ding

"Why is the statute of limitations for both theft and murder presented on the same page of this book? Is it for the plot convenience? I bet it's for the plot convenience." *ding

"And once again, sin for murder having any statue of limitations whatsoever. This game came out in 2011, AKA  _after_  Japan got rid of this dumb law in real life. Also, as I explained in my Turnabout Goodbyes review, this law is narratively pointless because stakes are already sufficiently high without the added drama of fitting justice into an arbitrary time frame. That said, this case uses the obstacle better than its first game counterpart in that it presents an interesting moral dilemma in accepting Master's conviction as an accomplice and arresting Gustavia... or rejecting Master's false verdict and allowing the true culprit to go free. Because something clever actually did come out of this ridiculous setup, I only give the scenario a half sin." *half-sin awarded

(Hall moving Dover's body in the present) "Again: Hall had time for this? No one noticed her going in and out of the Winter Palace, first with an empty trolley, then with a 'service cart'? We know Larry saw her leave, and he's dumb enough to not have any suspicions, but did no one see her enter? Did no one realize she was unaccounted for at a time when Hall should have been either with the investigation or treating the victim? Why was no one watching the other rooms at this time? Is Hall really that good at sneaking around, or are the police just eternally bad at watching over rooms with close proximities to crime scenes? I'm beginning to suspect the latter." *ding

(Hall is wearing her tablecloth around her waist) "You know, this design feature would have been a lot easier to notice if we ever saw Hall before she moved the sculptures in the present  _and_  if we weren't already used to her wearing an apron in the past portions of the case. But that would make this game too easy, so... fuck the players, I guess." *ding

(Hall confesses to causing the present incident) "Like Yogi from the first game, Hall isn't completely cornered yet when she chooses to confess her crimes. The writers just needed to get the present case resolved so they could delve further into DL- I mean, IS-7. What, did they tell Hall she could break prison regulation and share a cell with Master if she confessed early? Did Shields promise to get her a lighter sentence when Edgeworth wasn't paying attention? This is never explained." *ding

"I have one final question about the body/sculpture moving incident... once again, I remind my readers that the IS-7 trial was a year long. Are you telling me the police never investigated the mansion proper on a desperate hunt for evidence in that entire span of time? Von Karma knew the body was missing. If he were able to show it to Gregory (likely after messing with it so it confirms his false autopsy), he could hide his investigation's previous faults while still winning the case. Gregory Edgeworth would lose his trump card as well, likely leading to an earlier ending of the trial. Once again, the police running this investigation suck serious ass at their jobs. But this time, Von Karma shares some of the blame for never ordering such a search even when he has every reason to. And why sin one when you can sin both?" *two sins

(Poison trap was intended to lure out the true culprit of IS-7) "...Yeah, I'm with Shields on this one. Most of Hall's plan is fine and dandy, but she had no reason to launch poison gas on the culprit. She could have proven Gustavia was the culprit by filming his intrusion of the Pisces statue through a secret camera and achieved the same result. The only way Hall's actions make sense is if she had a double motive of revenge, believing Gustavia would never be tried for his crimes and taking justice into her own hands by murdering him. But game insists Hall is too well-meaning and innocent for those thoughts, so we're left with this shit." *ding

"I don't understand Courtney's logic here in refusing to reopen the IS-7 incident. She's too young to have been on the PIC when IS-7 occurred. The fact that the PIC (and Blaise Debeste) made such a huge fuckup in their handling of the case should be wonderful news for her. I admit it's been a while since I played the next episode, but doesn't Courtney  _want_  to expose Blaise for being a beacon of corruption over the span of decades? Would opening up Blaise's old wounds here not do just that? Seems to me she has a golden opportunity, here. Or does Courtney just have a set amount of time she needs to spend in Lawful Evil mode before the rest of her character can be revealed?" *ding

"I know Gustavia is an asshole and all, but... come on, man. Dude wakes up for the first time after inhaling near-lethal amounts of poison gas, and the first thing he hears is that he's a suspect in the murder he's been avoiding for nearly two decades. That's gotta sting." *ding

(Flashing between the Edgeworths' words as the chain of logic wraps around Gustavia) "This whole scene is done beautifully, by the way. I go hard on this case, but it has some truly great moments that definitely deserve acknowledgement." *removes a sin

(Logic Chess with Gustavia) "Wait, I'm confused. Here, Gustavia says he watched  _Piece of Cake_  while with his son in Zheng Fa, but Keyes was separated from his father around the time of the IS-7 incident, never to see him again in life. Did Gustavia forget how he lost his child (we're not going to get into how Gustavia abandoned his kid in this case. That's too much to unpack, and this review is long already)? Does he have another? This is never explained." *ding

"Well, Gumshoe certainly took his sweet time in getting a DNA test. I get the possibilities were all suspects from an eighteen year old case and that would delay the process, but come on! Either they kept these parties' DNA on hand, or they didn't. This should not be a difficult question." *ding

(Gustavia has a fakeout before his true breakdown) "You know, foreshadowing the finale via father/son parallels is still a foreshadowing sin, by the way." *ding

(Dover wanted to blackmail Gustavia about his taste disorder) "Ah, I was wondering when blackmail would make its appearance in this case. Nice to see the cliche's finally arrived." *ding

(Peeling away at the statute of limitations) "(Singing) Wish we could turn back time... to the good old daaa-ays. When we could still convict killers but now we're stressed out." *not a sin

("Overturning a verdict of the Goddess of Law is much harder than you think.") "Not according to Recipe for Turnabout, it isn't." *ding

"Why do we take Gustavia's word that he was only overseas for three years exactly? Even if we could confirm his study abroad trip in Zheng Fa was that long, are you telling me Gustavia's never traveled outside the US since then, despite now being known as the  _World's_  Greatest Confectioner? I would imagine there was overseas demand for his skill set, and desserts of his caliber wouldn't travel well, so the idea that we can't keep subtracting travel time is some bullshit. I know we wanted to have the moral dilemma stay in place, but that plot point would be a lot cooler if couldn't still potentially be avoided." *ding

(Shields tells Edgeworth what the final nail in Gustavia's coffin is by quoting Courtney) "More repeated dialogue. Thirty seconds after the line's initial use, nonetheless." *ding

"Gustavia's true breakdown is... actually, pretty lit." *removes a sin

(Shields promises to ensure Hall isn't found guilty) "Um, but she  _did_  totally try to- yeah, okay. We're back to what I said about different moral codes, I see. I feel like kind of a hypocrite for sinning now, but-" *ding

(Sebastian confesses that he still "doesn't get" why Edgeworth acts the way he does) "I know we aren't to Sebastian's development arc yet, but it's moments like these that remind me that Sebastian is still just a teenager. Not some hyper competent prodigy teenager, but an  _actual child_  forced into a role he was never ready for at the behest of his slave-driving father. Already, we see hints that Sebastian isn't just some moronic rival forcing himself in our way, but a pawn trapped in a larger scheme that we should feel sorry for. And the fact that the game can show us that well in advance is some truly good writing." *removes another sin

"Until Larry came up to congratulate Edgeworth, I can honestly say I forgot he was in this case. That  _was_ a good thing." *ding

(Jeff Master's older look features more facial wrinkles) "Now this is how you do a post-timeskip look. Take notes, Scones." *no sin

(Master invokes Badd's name to Gumshoe) "I just realized: those two should totally be in prison together. Awwwwww... at least these two old men have a friend in each other. Still sad how they ended up here, but-" *not a sin either

(Ending narration states that "now, there are forces trying to take me off the prosecutor's path") "Roll credits!" *ding

"Also, ending narration." *ding

(Shields puts his photos with the Edgeworths next to each other in frames) "Awwwwwwww... I can't even be mad that there's another dose of narration in this scene." *removes a sin

**Total Sin Tally: 109**

**Sentence: Trapped in a Candy Castle (with Manfred Von Karma)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N's: (Slumps over) This review was not supposed to be as long as it is. Like, I'm getting flashbacks to when I sinned Bridge, and we aren't even close to the finale yet. This is not the hardest sinned third case (that is easily Turnabout Academy), but it is my longest review for a non-finale. I can only imagine the next case will shatter the latter record, however, because it basically could be the finale if one shaved the last ten minutes off. I don't even WANT to know what the final word count on Grand is going to be.
> 
> Still, I push on. We're almost to the end of this series, guys. I for one cannot wait. Thank you to all my readers, please feel encouraged to leave more of your thoughts below, and I will see you on the far side!


	4. Everything Wrong With: The Forgotten Turnabout

(The opening cutscene) "Game expects me to believe Kay doesn't recognize Simon Keyes as her assailant on a well lit rooftop (or, as we later find out, lakefront) from this close of a distance. Yes, I know she is about to lose her memory, but what about when she recovers, huh? If game wants me to believe its main twist could not easily have been uncovered a case too early, then it shouldn't pull stunts like this, dammit." *ding

"Game also expects me to believe it has the balls to murder Kay Faraday. After all the shit she managed to survive in the previous game, I feel forced to call bullshit on this." *ding

(Gameplay starts, and Edgeworth and Gumshoe are arguing about Edgeworth's fate re: the PIC) "Gotta admit, the subplot concerning Edgeworth's badge would have hit a lot differently if we'd gotten an English copy of this case out before Dual Destinies. First time playing, I would've been far more interested in the fate of Edgeworth's career if I didn't already know its ultimate destination as Chief Prosecutor. And while I blame neither the game itself nor the fan translators for this, I do blame Capcom, so therefore-" *I still sin

"Edgeworth recaps the previous episode for us." *ding

"Also, narration." *ding

(Jenson enters the case with Kay in tow) "Gumshoe tells Jenson to come back later when she knocks, but she barges into the room anyway without saying a word. If Jenson was always planning to be this rude, why knock at all?" *ding

"Also, Karin Jenson. As a needlephobe, her schtick got old for me. Quickly." *ding

(Amnesiac!Kay is introduced while "Girl's Lost Memories" plays) "I know I was commenting on the IS-7 theme in the previous review, but this Reminiscence theme is the best in the game, even if it  _is_  just Kay's theme slowed down to a dirge. The remixing of a once fun, happy song into a depressed, sluggish haze of its former self parallels perfectly with what happens to Kay as a character. This song, coupled with the sight of a once proud Kay brought low, hits me right in the feels every time." *removes a sin

"If Kay doesn't remember who she is and has no documents on her that identifies herself, then how was she able to get treatment from a hospital, especially this quickly? Are we forgetting that America is an evil corporate wasteland when it comes to healthcare? The only place she's going without insurance is an overcrowded, under-serviced public hospital in which they would  _not_  be able to spare the time sending a nurse (even one as incompetent as Jenson) away to check out an amnesiac patient's personal life. Have I really found a second area in which living in AA's version of America would be better than what the US has now? If so... damn it! I hate it when this happens." *ding

"Neither Gumshoe nor Edgeworth is able to recognize Kay with her hair down. Some friends they are! They've known each other for what, weeks now?" *ding

"What Kay loses in memory, she gains in politeness. Don't ask me how that works. I don't know." *ding

(Kay asks Edgeworth about the nature of their relationship, and he claims it's "hard to explain") "'Well, let's see. We met when you jumped down from a window a few weeks ago and saved me from kidnappers once. From then on, you decided to follow me around at crime scenes and occasionally run into burning buildings. Oh, and this one time when you were ten, you saved me from getting shot after I proved who killed your fa-' yeah, I guess that is kinda hard to explain." *ding

"Nurse decides to leave patient in the care of people who only claimed to know who the patient is. In the real world, only the patient themselves or their spouse can check an adult patient out of the hospital. I guess Dye Young really needs to turn over the bedspace?" *ding

(At the Grand Tower) "Global Studios tries to film a movie... in an area left open to the public with no warning signs whatsoever. These people have no right to be mad at Gumshoe for interrupting their shoot." *ding

"Also, foreshadowing the finale. Is one more episode honestly that long of a wait? Grand picks up right where Forgotten leaves off!" *ding

"Kay's distressed animation is... honestly, quite good. Until it gets to the demonic screaming section, that is. They ruined a perfectly good sprite by reminding me of the exorcism scene from Bridge to the Turnabout. I do not want to think about Dahlia's ghost possessing Kay, thank you very much!" *ding

(The PIC meeting room is also in the Grand Tower) "Well, now Edgeworth doesn't have to worry about when he gets called in on a PIC hearing. All he has to do is take the elevator down a few floors. What a great coincidence, huh?" *ding

"...Wait a second. Edgeworth hates elevators. But if he didn't take one up to the roof of Grand Tower, how did he get up here within the hour? Is the game really telling me he climbed fifty-one flights of stairs without breaking a sweat? Several times in the same game? Get out of here!" *ding

"Jenson's grandmother. Her character would be a  _thousand_  times more interesting if she didn't copy the ventriloquist act from Turnabout Big Top. Just saying." *ding

(Kay and Edgeworth play a word association game) "Cute, but... we're kinda on the scene of an actual crime right now, so can we maybe do this later? Please?" *ding

"This is the first and only case where we see the coroner perform her autopsy at the scene of the crime. The rest of the time, the body gets taken away to (I presume) a morgue first. Why is that different from every other case? Is it really only so we can get plot-important information about a forged autopsy later?" *ding

"The recurrence of Franziska Von Karma. Her role is smaller here than it was in the previous game, so I elect to only remove one sin." *removes one sin

"Jenson's grandma heard bad rumors about Edgeworth and won't let him near the victim's body... but bears no ill will towards Franziska and will let her look as much as she wants. This makes  _no sense_." *ding

(Franziska whips Sebastian five times in her first minute of knowing him) "Franziska is every player ever at this stage of the game. I may feel for Sebastian in retrospect, but this suits how the game has been utilizing his character thus far to a T: a well meaning but incompetent whipping post for every character with double digit IQ points." *ding

"Game decides waaaaaay too quickly that it's going to choose Kay as its initial suspect in this case. Sure, Edgeworth knows Kay would have been present at the Grand Tower on the night of the murder, but he's yet to tell the other prosecutors that. Not to mention, Kay lost her notebook over seven years ago, so the way Crane ended up with it is still a complete mystery. All these dicks have is a letter that may or may not prove intent to steal (not kill), so... what even is this? We're later told it's Blaise Debeste deploying his best efforts to cover his tracks, but he hasn't even appeared in this case yet. We have no reason to believe he's even contacted Courtney at this juncture. On top of planting Kay here, did Keyes also convince the scriptwriter to go along with his grand plan? Because that's the only way this rushed line of logic makes any sense." *ding

"Also,  _Courtney_  is able to instantly recognize Kay in her patient attire, but Edgeworth was not. Edgeworth has known Kay for longer, so what's up with this?" *ding

(Kay freaks out upon being accused) "Defendant can't remember if they committed the crime cliche. A particularly egregious specimen." *three sins

"Kay apparently wanted to compete with Maya for top serial defendant and get accused every game she appears in, but forgot that she was only slated to appear in two games, making such a feat impossible. Unless she wanted to pull an Espella and get wrongfully accused several times in one game (which no one should _ever_  do), her goal is impossible." *ding

(Edgeworth feels cornered by Sebastian's shoddy reasoning because, as Franziska points out, he thinks he has nothing to present to the contrary) "Oh, fuck you. This is far from the only case in the series to pull this stunt, but allow me to point this out one more time: these rivals got next to nothing on Kay Faraday so far. We haven't even told them Kay was  _in_  the building on the night of the murder yet. But I guess the writers wanted to include one more argument sequence to a case of could-be-finale length, so... fuck them, fuck me, fuck the players. (Sighs) It's too early in the case to piss me off like this!" *two sins

(Courtney presents keycard log) "Logsheet says it's meant to cover the date of April 4th, but Crane entered the room at 12:52 AM... on April 5th. I admit this is nitpicky, but I'm still annoyed from the previous sin, so-" *ding

"Letters supposedly written by Kay and Crane never undergo any sort of handwriting analysis even after their credibility is called into question despite that being a thing existing in this universe." *ding

"Also, the letter in question only contains Kay's first name, meaning that any individual with that name could be equally incriminated by this supposedly decisive piece of evidence. I realize Edgeworth would be shot down if he wanted to argue this, but why doesn't he at least try?" *ding

(Crane supposedly wanted revenge for 12 years ago) "Incident from x years ago is related to the current case cliche. For the second time in as many episodes." *ding

("When searching for the truth, it's best to take no sides.") "Franziska spits straight wisdom in this case, and the game's response is to sideline her. How unfortunate is that?" *ding

"If Courtney was the one who used the keycard, why was her name not on the log in the first place when Crane's was? Was it really only so we could have this mini-plot twist?" *ding

"Also, Courtney's argument for why we shouldn't suspect her in this crime basically boils down to 'accuse me, and I take your badge away'. Because that's not concerning." *ding

"(Loud sighs) Blaise Debeste, everyone." *ten sins for  _now_

"The image of young Franziska sitting on Blaise's lap. It's... not something I needed in my head." *ding

"How does this guy cry so much that he fills up his goggles twice in five minutes? Shouldn't keeping this up cause him to get dehydrated? Where is he storing the water for this? And is Ellen Wyatt related to him, by any chance?" *ding

"Also, opening your eyes in water. Blaise Debeste must be part merman." *ding

"Blaise verbally abuses his own son several times in this scene (beyond what anyone else has said to Sebastian thus far), and no one finds this to be wrong or inappropriate until much later." *ding

"If Edgeworth is this sure of Kay's innocence and this cornered by the PIC's antics, is there a reason he can't ask Phoenix or Shields to defend her in court while he investigates by proxy through Gumshoe? Phoenix hasn't been disbarred yet, and Shields likes Kay almost as much as Edgeworth does. Either one of them should have been able to get to the truth of this case, especially with Edgeworth and Gumshoe helping them. I realize he would be relinquishing some of his agency as the game protagonist, but this is a far more logical solution then going off the wire like Edgeworth does in game. If Phoenix can nab people like Manfred Von Karma and Damon Gant from the defense bench, he should be able to get Blaise too. This plot escalates so quickly, it never stops to ask itself if there was a more logical solution available. And considering how much Edgeworth obsesses over being logical, that should really be some sins." *five, to be exact

"Franziska has the audacity to make Edgeworth's resignation about her when it so clearly concerns the matter of Kay Faraday. I agree Franziska would make more sense here, being Edgeworth's adoptive sister as opposed to someone he's only known for a few weeks, but that's not the case here, and Franziska needs to accept that." *ding

(Investigating the tower again with Shields) "Why is it already so dark outside? It's not even seven pm yet... and April. The sun should still be up, if low." *ding

"Edgeworth finally finds Kay after worrying himself sick about her... and his first instinct is to criticize her inability to fugitive properly. Nice going there, buddy." *ding

"What is the point of keeping Kay out of police custody, again? Shields can be her lawyer and prevent her from doing anything stupid while Edgeworth continues his search for the truth. They should avoid harboring charges and surrender her to the police. Edgeworth's had no problem letting suspects briefly go into police custody before ultimately clearing their name, so why is this time different? Other than the desire to include some 'run away from cops' and 'Edgeworth locked away' scenes, I mean." *ding

"Also, Shields is waaaaay too okay with harboring a fugitive and letting Gregory's son throw his livelihood and reputation (and, at one point, freedom) down the shitter without even pausing to think about what he's doing. If anything, dude's having fun the whole way. Some older brother figure he is!" *ding

(Kay remembers burgers as something delightful) "See, I  _told you_  Kay was competing to be the next Maya! She's developed a burger fetish and everything." *ding

"If this TV is broadcasting live footage, why can't we see Edgeworth, Kay, and Shields on the roof in this shot as well? They should be visible from this angle." *ding

(The fifty-first floor) "Edgeworth goes searching for an Area 51 in this investigation. He's come a long way since pursuing Gourdy, hasn't he?" *ding

(A wild Ema Skye appears) "Ema's spring break was under way on the thirteenth of March, but Edgeworth says he thought she flew back to Europe for school just a few days ago. That's _three weeks_  of vacation. What school in Europe gives their students that much time for spring break? Moreover, Ema is back Stateside after only a few days... for the plot convenience, I guess? If Yamakazi was this desperate to barely use Ema in the plot again, why couldn't he have come up with  _any_  better story for why she's here? Did... did he even try to use logic in this case, or should I just proceed under the assumption that no, he didn't?" *ding

("Don't underestimate the importance of body language!") "Little Mermaid references." *ding

"Also, why is Ema so concerned about Kay? As far as we know, they've only met once." *ding

(In the storeroom) "The smuggling auction wanted to sell the Alif Red for twenty four million dollars?! Who the fuck would cough up so much for something like that? Especially considering how hotly the item is being pursued by Interpol, which would land the new owner in almost certain trouble. I may not think any work of art is worth that much money, but I especially disagree with such a high starting price for this bitch." *ding

"Also... is it just me, or does the Alif Red seem smaller in this case?" *ding

(A wild Lotta Hart appears) "Oh,  _now_  Lotta will talk to Edgeworth. What was wrong with her in the last game, huh?" *ding

"Also, this case alone is supporting such dangerous levels of recurring characters from previous titles, I thought I was in Farewell, My Turnabout for a second there. And for making me confuse this case with a far better one, I shall sin." *ding

" _Also_  also... Lotta got all on Phoenix and Maya's case about wasting her camera's film n the first game... then proceeds to waste an insane amount of camera space on Edgeworth and his fugitive crew. Talk about a character regression!" *ding

"Who bought Mr. Monkey's head for 'big bucks'? And  _why_?" *ding

(Logic chess on Lotta) "This Logic Chess segment may not be the hardest in the game (or even the case), but goddamn does that timer run down quickly. Go down one wrong path, and you fail this thing. Good thing failing at Logic Chess only loses you part of your lifebar and not the case at large." *ding

"This idea of going back to previous lines of questions and being forced to choose options in a specific order to get through to the witness is... honestly, quite good. I now seriously wish Logic Chess had been utilized in more than one game. But because it wasn't-" *ding

"So has Lotta been up here in the secret storeroom for over a day now? Where does she sleep? What does she eat? (in a smaller voice) ...Where's the bathroom?" *ding

"Jill Crane is the only stabbing victim in this series that I can name who had the common sense to scream while being murdered. I mean, good on her, but... it's not like it did any good." *ding

(Edgeworth and company drop in on the PIC meeting room, and Sebastian has Kay arrested immediately and seeks to have everyone else thrown out) "This is the first time Sebastian does anything smart in this game, and everyone's response is to completely ignore him. Poor guy." *ding

"...No, seriously. These police officers are in no rush to follow either of Sebastian's orders. Look at how they inch forward in this scene with such bored expressions. They're as done serving Sebastian as Gumshoe is and I know it." *ding

"Oh sure, blood from  _this_  case knows how to drop down onto the lower floor to reinforce the false crime scene, but in Spirit of Justice, blood never falls down onto the stage from the catwalk above. This case proves Yamakazi does know how blood drip should work, he just forgets the finer details in five years' time. And that may not be a sin on this case necessarily, but it's a sin nonetheless." *ding

"Why does Franziska say she heard about Edgeworth's situation from Gumshoe? She was there when he turned in his badge, so what did she need Gumshoe for? Context? ...At least  _that_  recap occurred off-screen. Can you imagine how much whipping that must have involved?" *ding

"None of the customers in this auction find it odd that a fellow customer screamed and then supposedly returned to the auction with no explanation for the noise. They also didn't notice blood dripping from the storeroom, I guess. Talk about dumb! These people are caught up in an illegal activity and should  _not_  want to be caught dead (literally) in the middle of the act. People like this should be more easily spooked than normal citizens, not less." *ding

(One of Blaise's sprites) "What is Blaise burning with his lighter in this animation? Napkins?" *ding

(Edgeworth in the Detention Center meeting with "Gumshoe") "Well, this is an odd reversal of fates. Usually Edgeworth is on the other side of the glass panel." *sin on me for joking about this moment

"How did Courtney get the police officer to lie about who was visiting Edgeworth? Is... is that even legal?" *ding

"You know, if Yamakazi really wanted to pull a 'she isn't so bad' twist on Courtney's character, he should have done more to hint at the idea that she might not be so horrible in earlier cases. All we get before her Heel-Face Turn in  _this_  case is a sad look at Edgeworth's tossed aside badge... and this short conversation in which Courtney is curious about Edgeworth's motives. Fuck, even Nahyuta's turn had more buildup than this, even if his character did suffer from many of the same issues. They also shouldn't have Courtney pull stunts like 'you can't suspect me or I'll strip you of employment' at the beginning of the very case that's meant to redeem her in the player's eyes, but I repeat myself." *ding

"Edgeworth appears to be housed in the same holding cell as Knightley was in the second case. Sure hope they caved in that tunnel before housing any more suspects in here." *ding

(Blaise stands around at Edgeworth's cell entrance to gloat) "Asshole." *ding

(Logic Chess on Blaise) "This segment was  _hard_. The timer doesn't run down as fast as it does on Lotta's, but the way Edgeworth has to go back on previously wrong answer choices and pursue each one in a certain order to obtain all the clues to get Blaise to confess to his frame job? Just give me a normal testimony next time, will you? I might agree that it's a good bit of gameplay if I didn't fail at it so many times in a row." *ding

"All complaints aside, Edgeworth finally gets to lay down some sick burns in this scene. And without getting penalized for them, to boot." *no sin

(Blaise's lighter flame catches his beard, and he quickly puts it out) "Breakdown-shadowing." *ding

(Blaise basically confesses to being the killer) "Gloating. I swear, this is the exact opposite of "lawyer presents crucial evidence to killer outside of court and is surprised when it goes badly'. And while I am glad that particular cliche isn't in this game, I do still sin this moment." *ding

(At the PIC hearing) "Courtney recaps shit we already know. This goes on for some time." *ding

"Also, from this moment on, Ema completely disappears from this case without an explanation. This is all the proof you need to know that her character was pointless and she only showed up for the sake of the Luminol minigame." *ding

(Image from the black market auction) "What is Grossberg doing here?! Are you telling me this is where he gets all the fancy art for his office? For shame, Grossberg. For shame." *ding

"Edgeworth says he has no objections... then screams Objection five seconds later. A-plus consistency there, Edgey." *ding

"Hey, I'm late to the party asking this, but what was a defense attorney like Jill Crane doing on an Internal Affairs board for prosecutors? Does the Bar of Attorneys also have a token prosecutor member? Why is this a thing?" *ding

("Objection! ...Hmph." "You need not object simply because you want to sigh!") "Frivolous Objection cliche. And here we see why Edgeworth continues to hold the champion title." *ding

(Courtney insists there exists no such human who can survive a direct injury to the heart for even a little while) "You sure about that, Courtney? In that case, I'd like to introduce you to this one revolutionary leader from Khura'in... whose murder circumstances I still don't fully understand. I'm not sure which game I'm sinning here, but it's a sin nonetheless." *ding

(Discussing who let the black marketeers in for the auction in the PIC room) "The remaining eight members of the PIC serve the function of a main series game gallery in this scene. Glad to know they aren't statues, at least." *ding

('Cause I'm Gonna Bully You: the testimony) "Chairman of the PIC openly abuses his son and threatens to bully beleaguered prosecutors in front of the entire PIC membership (save Crane) and... no one finds this to be inappropriate behavior from their organization's leadership. The PIC sure is useless at doing its job regarding corruption in law enforcement. Almost as bad as those detention center guards from the prison case." *ding

"Blaise somehow found a way to make his testimonies even more meaningless than his son's arguments in previous cases. That takes a twisted sort of skill." *ding

(In convincing Kay to testify, Edgeworth tells her that the "Yatagarasu is a noble thief who would never stoop to murder!") "I don't know, I seem to recall having an entire case devoted to when a third of the original Yatagarasu crew committed double homicide to cover up her ordering of a third killing. Then when Yew came back in the finale, she held a gun to Kay's head while another third of the Yatagarasu (Badd) had his firearm trained on Yew-na and would have shot her as well... had Lang not taken the blow and altered the setup of bodies such that the bullet went through his leg instead of anything lethal. And yes, I'm aware that's not what the Yatagarasu means to Kay AND that explaining such background in this case would take too long, but Edgeworth should not be this quick to dismiss the Yatagarasu's legacy of violence. He was there when all of these details were revealed." *ding

"Wait, who brought the Moozilla toy down from the storeroom? First Kay spoke of it in her memories, and now we're holding it? Recall that Edgeworth's Organizer is not the Court Record, here. He himself says he only writes notes about evidence and doesn't take the actual item. So... did Courtney have the toy down here because Edgeworth's Organizer mentioned it? Because it made her think of her son's movie? This is never really explained." *ding

"Also... hiding a recording device inside a stuffed animal, a la Farewell, My Turnabout. I won't quite say it's a cliche, but the move is definitely derivative of a (superior) preceding case." *ding

(Courtney starts helping Edgeworth) "For all my earlier complaints... this scene where Courtney transitions to Edgeworth's side is both gradual and well documented with its cues. Outside this scene, not so much, but here? Courtney's jumping of the shark is done seamlessly, to the point where the player is only mildly surprised when she starts using Edgeworth's words to describe the case. Everything here only serves to make Courtney's accusation of Blaise that much more dramatic, proving that this game truly is the best when it comes to building up  _deserved_  dramaticism." *no sin here

(Dr. Young finally arrives) "Wow. I can't believe Edgeworth  _actually_  wins his case by getting the doctor to update her autopsy report. Talk about a sweet callback!" *still no sin

(Karin Jenson was an accomplice) "Hiding in a box meant for clothing at the crime scene... I wanna call it a cliche, but it's really only happened twice. Although now that I think about it, if Jenson was locked in there with a chain, how did she breathe? I don't see any holes in this box, and she would have been hiding in there for hours. Why is Jenson still alive?" *ding

"Hey, Kay never mentioned that Crane was naked under her raincoat! I understand she's getting her wires crossed with both Keyes and Crane wearing red raincoats that night, but still. This seems like a pretty odd detail to  _still_  forget about." *ding

"Lotta confesses to having passed out for almost an entire day. How fucking convenient. If the game thinks it's rendered my earlier sin moot, let me assure you that it hasn't." *ding

"Two grown women fit inside that tiny costume trunk?! It... didn't look that big when we were investigating the storeroom. Also, if Kay was in there with the victim, I have the same question as before: where is air? Kay could have suffocated inside that trunk." *ding

(Franziska arrives to tell us information we already know re: the order of Crane's injuries) "Franziska tries to reenact her Big Damn Heroes moment from Farewell, My Turnabout. It fails miserably." *ding

"That said, she does provide us with the information we need to determine the real murder weapon, so... I'll take half that sin back." *half-sin removed

(Courtney indicts Blaise after taking Edgeworth's suggestion from the previous case and looking into the false autopsy from the IS-7 incident) "Courtney is briefly awesome." *removes a sin

"None of the PIC reacts to having one of their members accuse the organization's chairman. I was at least expecting more gallery chatter." *ding

(Franziska comments on Sebastian's love for his father, saying that "one must be able to accept their father's mistakes") "See,  _this_  game gets it in regards to Franziska's character motivations and greater character arc. I don't know what went wrong with some of her appearances in the previous game, but I'm glad they fixed those issues here." *more a comment than a sin

"First Kristoph's scar, then Crane's burn, and later, the Phantom's own hand injury. What is it with this series and their strange love of hand wounds? This is kind of an odd cliche." *ding

"Nothing ever happens to Blaise for threatening to make an entire room of people disappear... in front of the entire living PIC board. Are we all just forgetting there are eight extra people in this room? I feel like everyone involved just collectively forgot this was a hearing attended by eight unrelated legal professionals. Even the artists, when we zoom out later." *ding

"How was Blaise barefaced two days ago for the crime, but fully bearded now? Is the beard really the fake wavy wig? If so, why does Sebastian never comment on his father's sudden growth of facial hair? This should be a surprise to him, dammit! Sebastian can be slow on the uptake sometimes, but he isn't blind, right? Same goes for all the other PIC members, really. Even  _if_  there aren't any willing to break their sudden vows of silence." *ding

(Sebastian discovers all his achievements were the results of bribes/threats made by his father) "...This scene is  _heartbreaking_. I know the series forgets this sometimes, but seventeen is still the age of a child. A child who's never gotten to live before because his father laid out his path for him and gave him a false sense of self. He's basically what Franziska would have been if her intellect never lived up to Manfred Von Karma's standards of perfection. The fact that everyone just says empty platitudes about Sebastian and lets him run away to be kidnapped as his world shatters is, honestly, a sin on them. Edgeworth's so willing to protect one vulnerable seventeen year old (Kay) from Blaise's harshness, but not the other? What, did he have to wait until the finale to grow a heart for this kid? This is terrible!" *five more sins

"Just for the record, I feel like everyone should have known before now that Blaise's beard was fake. After all: who in the legal system but judges are allowed to have these?" *ding

"Also... body parts as evidence cliche. I thought Apollo was the protagonist who was fond of these." *ding

(Blaise's breakdown) "Ha. Finally got caught in a fire you started, huh? Not so nice when you're on _this_  end of the witch burnings." *no sin

"Courtney was going to preside over the trial of Patricia Roland... even though she had an active role in the investigation and the intended lead prosecutor (Sebastian) was something of a mentee to her. Again: just because conflicts of interest are apparently not considered a problem in this universe does not mean I will not sin the obvious conflicts of interest. Just... remember that when we get to next case." *ding

"Edgeworth refuses to accept Courtney's help in reclaiming his badge even after Blaise (the main obstacle in Edgeworth's pursuit of justice) has been arrested because... reasons? I can honestly say I don't understand his logic here, and I don't think the game does either." *ding

(Kay recovers her memories when handed the promise notebook and returns to her normal sprites (and theme music) even while in the patient getup) "Awwwwww... Damn it! I'm not heartless, and this whole scene is wonderful." *removes a sin

"Jenson is the nurse who gave Apollo his over the top number of bandages in Dual Destinies. Calling the theory now." *ding

"Kay changes clothes in front of half a dozen people. And I thought Spirit of Justice included too much stripping." *ding

"Game waits until the episode only has seven minutes left to remember that Gumshoe is an important character. I feel like there's a metaphor here somewhere." *ding

"Also, the next seven minutes serve entirely to remind the player that no, Episode Four was _not_  the finale of this game, even if we just took down who could have easily been a Big Bad-level culprit and most of the episode's events occurred on a grand (no pun intended) enough scale to be mistaken for finale events. The first time I played this game, I thought the story couldn't take itself any higher than where it already was by the end of this case. And  _boy_  was I wrong." *I gotta be honest... is this a sin?

(De Killer calls Edgeworth on the transceiver from Farewell, My Turnabout) "...He still has access to that thing?! The case was two years ago, man. You've been on the run from the police since then. Why the fuck do you still have an avenue to be contacted by via police evidence?" *ding

"Also, how does de Killer know that Edgeworth solved the case? That literally just happened. Unless de Killer disguised himself as an employee in the Grand Tower and was spying on Edgeworth for a good portion of the episode, he shouldn't know shit yet. Am I sinning what is actually a cool finale hook just a little too hard? Why yes, yes I am." *ding

(De Killer asks Edgeworth to show him evidence) "How can he 'show' this guy anything? He... he's only calling Edgeworth through the transceiver, right? I wasn't right in my earlier sin that de Killer is hiding somewhere he can see Edgeworth from, was I?" *ding

"Ending narration." *ding

**Total Sin Tally: 124.5**

**Sentence: Kay's Hospital Bills (USA Style)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N's: I'm honestly surprised that this review is shorter than the one I did for the previous episode. I thought I would have more to say about this case, but I guess a lot of it is actually related to Grand, not so much Forgotten. Which reminds me:
> 
> EWW: The Grand Turnabout is not coming out any time soon.
> 
> I know this may make some of you upset, but I'm doing this for my own good. I haven't updated AAI3 at all since I started this review, and I wanted to have the fourth case of that fic done by July. I'm the only one working on that project at this moment due to... unforeseen circumstances, which means I need to write like mad if I want to meet my goal. Which means I can't have any distractions. Once I do that, I also plan to update Miracle, which has sat idle since February. So forgive me if you don't see this fic completed until late next month. I'm sorry, but I have to do this.
> 
> But I still look forward to reading your reviews and comments in the meantime, so don't let this mini-hiatus discourage you. Once again, thank you to everyone for taking the time to read, don't forget to leave your thoughts below, and I will see you on the far side!


	5. Everything Wrong With: The Grand Turnabout

"For such an awesome case, this finale sure has a letdown name. I prefer that to its prequel (a letdown case with an awesome name), but even so. Neither the Japanese writers nor the fan translators could come up with  _anything_  better?" *ding

(The opening) "Bangin' music, but the last case left off on judicial corruption and communication with an assassin, so naturally, this case opens with... the trailer to a monster movie. Seems logical." *ding

(Case proper begins) "Edgeworth recaps the previous episode to people who were present for said episode. This narration is narratively pointless." *ding

"Also, narration." *ding

(Nichols takes us to the body) "If Huang's body double (HBD) is dead now, why does he retain his muscular appearance? Shouldn't being crushed by a hot air balloon have deflated him again? Did Keyes re-inflate him postmortem? How does that work, anyway?" *ding

(The first case opens with a (supposed) attempt on HBD's life, and the finale begins with HBD actually dead) "Bookends. Wait, is that a sin?" *it is not

"The Mighty Moozilla." *ding

"When Lang is alone on the case, his theme drastically drops in tempo. Who knew?" *ding

(Lang invokes the SS-5 incident) "Incident from x years ago is related to today cliche for the third time in a row. What is this, the first AA game? I gave PW:AA three sins for this in their finale, so it's only fair that I do the same here. Just because the same incident inspired two people in different episodes doesn't mean they deserve to be counted as one package deal." *three sins

"How has Huang(/HBD) managed to stay president for over twelve years when HBD has to resort to fake assassination attempts to keep his ratings in the air? Is he the Zheng Fa'ian equivalent of Vladimir Putin? Does Zheng Fa not impose term limits on their chief executive? I'm not saying this can't be a thing, but I do have serious questions about this country's political system." *ding

"Edgeworth remembers meeting Penny Nichols before, which is more than I can say about myself. Who decided the most forgettable character in the series needed to recur, anwyay? It's not like they added anything to her character." *ding

"Are we sure these holes in the ground are hoofprints? They look more like Pac-men to me." *ding

(Nichols explains that the Moozilla movie is a revival of the original series from 12 years ago) "Even in the fictional AA world, we have pointless movie reboots coming out over a decade after the original." *ding

(There's a versus battle between two monsters coming out "soon" as of 2019) "Godzilla vs. Kong reference. Still not sure how Yamakazi predicted this title eight years early, but good on him, I guess." *ding

(Return of Gourdy) "Turnabout Goodbyes reference.  _Again._ " *ding

"John Marsh's theme." *removes a sin

"Why does Marsh care so much that Edgeworth isn't wearing a prosecutor's badge? Unlike defense attorneys, prosecutors in this game are more likely to keep their badge tucked away than pinned to their clothes. The fact that Edgeworth has already turned his in when Marsh asks is complete coincidence." *ding

"Marsh's huge anime eyes do not fit his face in any way, shape, or form. And I thought Scones was bad." *ding

"Also, Marsh is a diva and my least favorite child character in the whole series. I liked Cody Hackins better than this kid." *ding

"Why was Marsh developing film in 2019? I don't even know how to do that shit, and he's younger than me! Who the fuck uses actual film in 2019?" *ding

(HBD's bodyguards finally arrive) "These assholes really, _really_  suck at their jobs. What, are they just useless without Rooke and Knightley to guide them? Even if they weren't with HBD at the time of the murder, why did it take them this long to realize HBD was missing and find the body?" *ding

(Lang accuses Courtney of murder) "Lang's logic relies on HBD's bodyguards not noticing their client missing for almost two days and doing nothing about the fact until just now. I don't know which is sadder: the fact that Lang proposes this, or the fact that he ends up being right... if for a few wrong reasons." *ding

(Lang says it's been a while since he felt cornered by Edgeworth) "It's been  _three weeks_  since Ablaze, Lang. A lot might have happened in those three weeks, but three weeks is not a long time in this sort of context." *ding

"The viewing platform's only non-secret way down is the elevator? No one thought it necessary to install stairs as a fire escape measure on this building? Well, that's a safety hazard." *ding

(Nichols claims she saw Gourdy) "Nichols of all people should know that what she saw was the covered camera equipment. She was the one who told us about the need to protect it from the rain with tarp, remember?" *ding

"Lotta's running animation." *ding

(Kay suggests she and Edgeworth go monster hunting) "Miles Edgeworth: Ace Monster Hunter did not make it into the final version of the game." *ding

(In the courthouse with Courtney, Shields, and Franziska) "Since when do trials start at at 11:23 am in this world? The most common time is 10:00 am in the main series." *ding

"Also, I didn't mention this in the last game, but it bothers me how the point of view of the courtroom is shifted in the AAI spinoffs versus the main series. In the main series, we are used to seeing the prosecution on the right and the defense on the left. But now, the prosecution's on the left instead, screwing with my head. Not only is the minor alteration pointless, but it bothers me in ways I can't describe." *ding

"Edgeworth recaps the second episode to us. He couldn't have let Franziska do it for him in the opening statement?" *ding

"Why would Roland be okay with Shields serving as her defense attorney? It was Shield's very 'assistant' that first accused her of murder during the investigation! If I were her, I would get someone who  _wasn't_  part of the charge to indict me in the first place. Even acknowledging Shields was a short notice replacement, this is clearly a stupid move." *ding

"Also, the incident in question occurred on March 27th and Roland was apprehended on the 29th. Why did it take a week for her case to come to trial? Even acknowledging Crane's death on the 5th, that's six days of pointless waiting when most cases from the main series were sent to trial a day or two after the arrest. Crane should have had ample time to close the case and the only reason she didn't was plot-related." *ding

"And one more thing: where were the police keeping Roland while she waited for her day in court? Was she really locked up in the detention center she used to run? For a week? Was she guarded by former lackeys? How did that work, exactly?" *ding

"Shields hates Manfred Von Karma and totally dissed Edgeworth for taking after the man's profession in the second case, but is nothing but friendly to Franziska, a woman who is openly proud of her Von Karma lineage. This makes no sense." *ding

"If Roland has heard enough about Kristoph Gavin to quote him, why didn't she ask for him as her defense attorney? The Gramarye case hasn't happened yet, so I doubt he's busy. He's  _just_  the kind of lawyer Roland would want at her side right now." *ding

"Courtney allows both the defense and the defendant to call her pet names in court. Because that's not inappropriate." *ding

"I understand why losing the murder weapon is a big deal, but... there are several witnesses Franziska can call who were there when the weapon was found: Edgeworth, Kay, Gumshoe, Regina, to name a few. Furthermore, the prison is noted for having security footage, and Roland shouldn't have been able to erase the footage from when the knife was found because that action was followed immediately by her arrest. Not only that, but they could even call the vet who checked on Ally the alligator after the gator was found to have consumed metal and have them give their report. I might believe Blaise pursued some of these routes in his quest to quash the evidence, but I doubt he got to all of them. And while I understand the plot needs to happen, you  _know_  if it were a playable character on one of those benches that we would be forced to find a solution that doesn't require dumpster diving. But we can't play as Franziska or Shields in this game, so... yeah, still a sin." *ding

(Regina and Keyes show up to watch Roland's trial, and Regina says "Ahaha! Looks like Simon's going to be arrested again!") "Regina deduces how this case will end before anyone else does. One point for Circus Blondie." *no sin

"Why is Franziska so obsessed with the idea of Edgeworth as an anchorman? And why is she so unwilling to help Shields stall for time? They're waiting for evidence that would ensure  _she_  wins the case! Since when is winning not one of Franziska's chief motivations for standing in court?" *ding

(Logic Chess with Courtney) "If Courtney is so incapable of rendering an impartial verdict, is there a reason we can't get the main series judge on the scene for this case? What about his Canadian brother, eh? Both were around two months ago. Our regular judge even takes the Gramarye case just a few weeks in the future. Where were they during all this mayhem?" *ding

"Courtney's distressed animation makes her look vaguely aroused. The discussion of kidnapped children rarely gets me in the mood, but each to their own kinks." *ding

"It's a good thing Courtney is revealed to be Marsh's adopted mom. Otherwise, I would have a lot of questions about why a grown woman is _this obsessed_  with a thirteen year old actor's whereabouts. She does get oddly aroused talking about his kidnapping, after all." *ding

(Edgeworth marvels at the thought of declaring a "goddess" guilty) "Just wait nine years in your time, Edgeworth. It nearly happens on two separate occasions." *ding

"Let me get this straight: we have to rescue John Marsh and (as we discover) Sebastian Debeste from kidnappers to ensure Patricia Roland's trial ends fairly so we can talk to Courtney at length about the president's murder... which we don't even suspect her of committing, but Lang does. I understand now that this episode is meant to be an amalgamation of several cases more than a single coherent episode, but the first time I played, I thought the plot had just completely derailed for several hours with no objective in mind. I could remove these later, but for now-" *three sins

"Earlier, we were told that court would be in recess for fifteen minutes. It has been more than twenty." *ding

"Edgeworth and Kay waste precious time arguing over the Yatagarasu's catchphrase. They... do remember they're running against the clock here, right?" *ding

"Will Power's recurs as a character. I like this guy. He doesn't lie in his testimonies.

"...That said, he's as forgettable here as he was in Farewell, My Turnabout. What is it with this guy and his ability to fade into the background on awesome cases?" *ding

"Powers says they had to stop filming because he lost a box. Not because the body of a foreign head of state was found in the film lot or anything." *ding

"Why is John using videotapes in 2019? Does he even know how to operate one of those things?" *ding

(Lotta and Swift together) "Who thought we needed a double dose of reporter in this scene? Or this case?" *ding

"Taxi driver drives a European car in Japanifornia, if the position of the driver's seat is anything to go by. What cab company thought importing so many alternatively styled cars was a good idea?" *ding

(In Blaise's garage) "I have the same problem with this green box as I had with the wooden box from the previous case: where is air? If the kidnappers closed the box on Sebastian, he would have run out of oxygen in there and suffocated. If Blaise hired supposedly professional kidnappers, you would think they'd know better than to murder their hostage on the job." *ding

"Sebastian was kidnapped by his father's thugs and tied up in his own garage after being mistaken for Courtney's son because he ran out on his father's corrupt and murderous bullshit and admitted he knew Courtney to said thugs. An alternate title for this case should've been 'Sebastian Debeste and the Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Morning'." *sin on me for joking about this

"Game gives us two long-ass Logic Chess segments in the span of a single chapter. I like the minigame too, but not this much. Is it any wonder Beginning, Part 2 is almost three hours long?" *ding

"Logic Chess against Sebastian requires Edgeworth to be nice to another person. I understand why they saved this challenge for the finale. It _is_  quite the struggle for his character." *ding

"Sebastian's crying animation is, honestly, pretty gut-wrenching. How did they manage to nail this guy's distress but not Courtney's?" *no sin

"Sebastian realizes his father was behind his kidnapping, and his first thought is that he's totally about to get murdered. That is very concerning." *ding

"Blaise sent thugs after John Marsh without telling them what their target looked like. Marsh is an up and coming actor. It's not like a picture of him would've been hard to come by. Should I blame the kidnappers for being incompetent, or Blaise for not being more specific? I can never be sure on this one." *ding

(Edgeworth promises to help Sebastian become a better prosecutor in his own right) "Awwwwwwwww... I love mentor!Edgeworth." *removes a sin

"Nothing ever happens to Blaise's thugs for kidnapping people." *ding

(We switch to Shields's POV for the court scene) "Oh. I guess I was wrong about never playing as Shields in this game earlier. But since the game doesn't allow us to try any of the alternatives I mentioned earlier-" *I keep the sin from above

(Note from Roland about Knightley) "Since when does Sebastian know his father's safe combination? Did he figure it out on the spot? If so, Sebastian is at least slightly smarter than the game gives him credit for. One point for Blue Rookie!" *no sin

(De Killer appears on the case) "De Killer in a plot important role. Awwwww yeah." *removes a sin

"First Engarde, now Keyes. When are people going to learn that trying to screw over de Killer is a  _terrible_  idea? This move has sunk the ship of otherwise clever culprits twice now." *ding

"Sirhan Dogen escaped from prison three days ago and literally no one cared until just now. I've said it once and I'll say it again: the police and prison guards are shit at their jobs." *ding

"De Killer takes the elevator down into a plaza full of cops dressed like an alias they now know he goes by, yet he is magically able to evade capture for the thousandth time without (apparently) even causing a scene. At this point, I'm not even gonna ask how he does it anymore. Just sinning." *ding

(Judge Courtney's phone has a Moozilla ringtone) "It's not as cool as having a ringtone of her own theme, but damn is this a funny ringtone for an uptight judge to keep on their cell phone. Can you imagine her phone going off in any other trial?" *no sin

"Keyes brags about his behind the scenes shenanigans over the phone... completely defeating the point of keeping his shenanigans behind the scenes to begin with. Not to mention, he's calling  _Courtney's_  cell phone, proving that he also has his hands in John Marsh's kidnapping as well. (sighs) Even the genius culprits accidentally foil their own plot sometimes. For all his abilities, Keyes found abiding to cliche simply too much to resist." *ding

"That said... thanks to the bug, Keyes is now completely aware that de Killer is onto him and wants to murder his ass, but he does not immediately drop everything he is doing to flee the country. What, did he know ahead of time that Dogen would swoop in and save him? Yes, he knows Dogen is also free now, but that is a lot to assume with no hard evidence and no reason to believe de Killer won't get to him first. Considering De Killer's superhuman abilities to sneak into and out of any location, I am genuinely surprised he let Edgeworth get the first shot at Keyes in the confrontation later." *ding

"Hey, how did Keyes get Courtney's number? I understand Blaise having it, being on the PIC with her and all, but Courtney doesn't strike me as someone who would give personal information out to strangers. I would imagine only her business contacts as a judge are public record. Did Keyes ask Marsh for the number when he kidnapped him? The fuck he get his hands on this information?" *ding

"Why couldn't we have asked someone on the police force to trace the call signal (or bug signal, even) and find Keyes and/or Marsh the easy way? Why did Edgeworth have to a be a dick and reject his badge in the last case? That move literally only serves to make  _everything_  harder in this episode!" *ding

(Kay wants to fight Keyes for planting a bug in her Yatagarasu's badge) "I would honestly pay to see this. Make sure no animals or assassins can intervene on Keyes's behalf, though. Keep the fight fair." *ding

"Edgeworth thinks his story about getting bugged is good enough for Nicole Swift to make headlines. He gives her reporting skills waaaaay too much credit." *ding

(Swift confesses to "wireless wiretapping") "That's not legal." *ding

(Keyes tells Edgeworth about the fireworks at Sunshine Coliseum, thereby allowing Edgeworth to deduce Marsh's location) "Should I consider this an instance of 'culprit foils their own plot'? Yes, Keyes is the one who kidnapped Marsh, but his play was intercepted by Blaise and co-opted into getting Roland a not guilty verdict, something that runs counter to Keyes's interest in punishing all who wronged him. So, in a way, Keyes helping Edgeworth find Marsh without admitting anything is actually a smar- I just talked myself out of a sin, didn't I? Dammit." *no sin

(Gumshoe arrives and describes his own internal conflict re: Edgeworth going badgeless) "Does Gumshoe have this breakdown every time Edgeworth leaves the country to do something else? Even in JFA when everyone else thought Edgeworth was dead, Gumshoe was mostly okay with working under Franziska. And in T&T as well, he doesn't really complain about serving Godot. So where is this crisis coming from?" *ding

"Also... how dare Gumshoe be a more competent investigator off screen than at any time when we interact with him. Maybe he  _is_  better off stepping out of Edgeworth's shadow." *ding

(Getting Gumshoe to report in his side investigation) "Great tidbits, but... can we maybe receive these when we aren't on a time sensitive retrieval mission? Marsh first, camera quirks second." *ding

(The plan to take Marsh out with the trash) "The only way this plan works is if Marsh made no movements or noise at all while being loaded onto a garbage truck. Even if he was knocked unconscious before box diving, there's no guarantee Marsh would stay asleep long enough, right? Drugs are not as reliable as this game seems to think they are. Not to mention, there's a million ways this idea puts Marsh in harm's way. Examples include: heavy box loaded on top of Marsh, Marsh struggling and falling out of the truck, Marsh being manhandled and concussed during the loading process, so on and so forth. The fact that any part of this plan went smoothly is pure coincidence on Keyes's end." *three sins

(Edgeworth shares a bench with his sister) "Awwwww... First Edgeworth and Franziska take opposing benches in T&T, and now they share the same prosecutor's bench in this game. They're such cute siblings." *no sin

"Although, this does remind me: the defense often has a co-counsel at the bench with them, but this is the first time we've seen more than one prosecutor occupy the bench at a time. The only other time this happens that I know of is in SoJ's finale, when Ga'ran hijacks Nahyuta at the last minute." *more commentary than sin

(Sebastian bursts into the courtroom) "Game does the dramatic 'pan between the characters to see who interjected' even if the clip is voiced and you already know who interjected. I've complained about this before, right? Please tell me I have sinned this before now because I am having the strangest flashbacks to JFA, of all games." *ding

"That said... Sebastian gets a Big Damn Heroes moment. It's actually kinda cool for him." *removes a sin

"Sebastian theme: badass remix style. Coupled with a new and mature sprite, to boot." *removes another sin

(Blaise threatens to take his teenage son back home to "play" with him) "Is this game implying what I think it's implying? Because if so... holy shit that is  _dark_. I need to cleanse my soul after this scene. (shudders)" *five sins for Blaise being a creep

(Three phones go off at once in court) "I understand Courtney and Edgeworth's phone ringing, but... really? Shields too? Between this and some of Phoenix's antics, I'm beginning to think no one turns off or even silences their cell phones when they go to court. This is a sin for poor trial etiquette on behalf of attorneys everywhere." *ding

"Also... when did Kay get Shields's number? Did he give it to her on top of his hug offers? This is never explained." *ding

"Why does Courtney need to extend her gavel in this scene? She's sitting in the judge's chair with a perfectly good desk right in front of her face!" *ding

"Sebastian literally went dumpster diving in a grand attempt to redeem his case. Sad it didn't quite turn up the results he wanted, but hey: A plus for effort." *in case it's not clear, I have some sins to clear on this kid's ledger. Not about to add more just yet

(Sebastian recognizes the glove prints based on their familiar scent) "Awwwwww yeah. Kid has potential yet." *removes a third sin for Sebastian

("Didn't I promise you? That if you have the courage to stand up... I will show you the way. And if you cannot do it alone, then we shall do it together.") "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Edgeworth as a mentor figure to younger prosecutors is too damn cute to have been confined to only a single game. Is it any wonder Edgeworth grows up to be Chief Prosecutor over the next generation of truth seekers? And can you believe I'm removing this many sins in only the second chapter of the finale? We're not even back to the episode's main plot yet!" *removes a fourth sin

(Lang stops the trial from ending so the case's main plot can resume) "Game does the dramatic 'pan between the characters to'... even when... didn't I just write this sin?" *ding

"Also, Lang? You were a fifteen year old in Zheng Fa when the SS-5 incident happened. Shut up about it being 'the case you never forgot' and 'finally coming  _bac_ k for revenge'. You took over for your father in this time!" *ding

"And now the judge of the case has been arrested before she can hand down a verdict. This trial is  _bonkers_ , man. It would put the main series to shame, and it isn't even a full trial segment! I wonder how Phoenix would feel if he knew Edgeworth's strangest trials are the ones he  _isn't_  involved in." *ding

(Back at the film lot) "Recapping previous chapters of the case to people who were (mostly) present for said chapters when they occurred. If this case cut all its useless narration out of the script, I bet it would shave a good hour off the total runtime." *ding

"Marsh's milk carton sweats when Marsh is upset. By chance, is it from the same place as de Killer's ice cream cones? What is with this game and semi-animate dairy products?" *ding

"Marsh yells at Nichols for complimenting him. Marsh is a jerk." *ding

"Lang proposes that a young woman and a scrawny kid were capable of lifting and moving HBD's giant body both into and out of the Moozilla costume in the dead of night with no trouble. His theory also relies on the fact that no one used or even touched the Moozilla costume on the day of filming in between, even though we have a picture that proves otherwise. His theory also offers no reason for the pair waiting two nights before revealing the body beyond 'conflict with previous episode'." *ding

(Edgeworth argues that Blaise Debeste is the one who made the "footprints" in the film lot) "No one heard Blaise breaking through concrete and digging holes in a private film lot, even though that would have generated a shit ton of noise." *ding

"Also... if Blaise was really doing this yesterday (IE day Edgeworth spent the night in the detention center) on top of his role in the previous episode... then wow does Blaise keep a busy schedule. He's Chief of the PIC, neck deep in at least two obstruction jobs by this point, and he had the time to go digging for hours on private property? Does this old man not  _sleep_?" *ding

"Speaking of old men, Marsh constantly refers to Edgeworth as an 'old man'. Edgeworth is the same age as Courtney in this game." *ding

(Marsh "confesses" to accidentally killing HBD) "In Marsh's damage animation, his backpack briefly opens to reveal what appear to be more milk cartons. Unless his backpack comes with a built in refrigerator, I wouldn't drink those after being outside for several hours. And if Marsh is going to ignore my warning and drink the spoiled milk anyway, he has no right to complain any longer about his stomach problems." *ding

(Arguing over pollen stains) "Are you telling me no one checked out the stains on HBD's clothes while conducting the autopsy? It's been several hours since the body was recovered, and we already have the report itself. We know the back of his clothes was all dirt stains. Why did no one on the forensic team check the front while they were at it? Lazy police force is lazy." *ding

"We flash back once again to scenes of Lang explaining the SS-5 incident. Such flashbacks might be useful in moderation. But after five times in three chapters, you done left Moderation-ville. You boarded a one way train to Overkill City." *ding

(Using Little Thief to investigate the SS-5 incident) "And the entire-non villain cast of this case (save two people) assembles in a tiny ass film lot. This is going to make investigating difficult. Especially once the hologram goes up and people run into present-day barriers that are no longer visible. Fuck, I've seen Marvel movies with less crowding in their cast." *ding

"Little Mr. Thief. Either put the title at the beginning of the name, or drop it entirely." *ding

"Jack Cameron's character design. How in the ever loving fuck did he land a girlfriend, let alone one as hot as Jill Crane? Either Crane seriously upgraded herself in twelve years' time, or she had low standards. Or Cameron was a wonderful guy and I'm being a shallow asshole, but what else is new?" *ding

"How does no one run face first into the Grand Tower during this investigation? The door is about where Cameron's body should be, and the tower is a _huge ass building_  besides." *ding

"Speaking of, I compared the present scene to the hologram at least ten times while writing this review, and Courtney and Marsh are standing in the adjacent film lot right now with no visibility problems regarding the rest of the hologram. Shields is also standing in the Grand Tower garbage area with the same lack of problems. Just... how?!" *ding

"No one walks by or through this giant ass holographic simulation in a public area. The police didn't cordon off the space, and the Grand Tower is fifty(-one) floors of office buildings with a romantic rooftop destination. Are you telling that absolutely no one went in, out, or pulled up to the driveway during this entire investigation segment? Game is indeed telling me that, and honestly? Fuck them." *ding

"Four goddamn pages of evidence, including some pieces that I swear were only used once in the beginning chapters. This case was in  _dire_  need of an Organizer cleaning that just... never came for some reason." *ding

"Between the hat style and the trenchcoat, the kidnapper in 'Cameron's' photo bears an unfortunate resemblance to Gregory Edgeworth." *ding

"Happy Family Orphanage had the audacity to call the kid supposedly attempting arson on the property a 'prankster'. (Sighs) Is this one of those scenarios in which the phrase 'boys will be boys' would be used? I feel like this is exactly the sort of scenario where that would be the case." *ding

"Also, obtaining records about the fire will be difficult for Lang's henchman because the perpetrator of the crime was a minor at the time and many people have their records sealed and/or scrubbed upon reaching adulthood. Good luck getting into those sealed records without a warrant, random Man in Black." *ding

(Lang orders another henchman to have a drawing retrieved from his dad's room in Zheng Fa) "Dude gets this drawing off of Dai-Long Lang's private property on an island halfway across the world in record time. Either game forgot it doesn't take place in Zheng Fa, Lang's dad moved to Japanifornia sometime in the past twelve years, or Zheng Fa'ian mail delivery is a lot faster than I think it is." *ding

"Also, Lang ordered two different MIB (I think, hard to tell) to retrieve two different pieces of evidence, but only one MIB walks up later with both items in hand. Did... did these two people merge? Are Lang's henchmen all clones of the same person who can multiply himself at will? Or does the game just not care enough about these characters to pay attention to consistency regarding them in any way?" *ding

(Amy Marsh's message) "Lady makes the foolish mistake of saying she'll meet Huang at midnight on February 9th when at that very moment, the day changes to February 10th. If Huang had just been a normal person and misunderstood her message to mean he should show up a day earlier, this entire plot could potentially have been avoided. Dogen wouldn't be here on the same night as Huang, Huang and HBD would have never switched, Keyes wouldn't have unlocked the second level of his Tragic Backstory... the only part of this game that could still happen after this is episode three." *ding

"Where was Amy Marsh when the SS-5 incident went down, anyway? We know she was a no show for the orphanage, but what happened to her instead? That was never explained." *ding

(Marsh is the president of Zheng Fa's son) "Well, this news is sure gonna generate press for the young actor. I bet Global Studios will be all over this. If Swift and Lotta aren't already." *ding

"Also, Marsh totally thinks he committed patricide now. Fun thoughts to have as a thirteen year old, huh? I may not like Marsh, but I still feel bad for him." *ding

"Lang and Edgeworth sure have come a long way from growling at each other's necks in the previous game. They've gone from rivals to truth seeking partners over the span of weeks, and I am here for it... even if they are only my second favorite of such duos that involve Edgeworth." *no sin

"Edgeworth proposes that Huang has been secretly dead for twelve years without a single breath of hesitation even after seeing 'Huang' (HBD) for himself in the first episode. I get he's right, and I wasn't expecting Apollo levels of hesitation (since he didn't know HBD that well), but it should still come as a shock to Edgeworth that he met a man who's been dead for over a decade,  _especially_  since he doesn't (didn't?) believe in spirit channeling. Why the calm face here, Edgey?" *ding

"How did HBD ever pull this switch off? Forget the fact that he lost contact with the Langs for a moment. Are you telling me that the original Huang had no family or close friends who were tipped off by 'Huang's' sudden change in behavior? The DNA of the nation's leader isn't known anywhere in Zheng Fa and HBD never had DNA taken from him for medical reasons? The game doesn't imply there was anyone else in on the scheme, so that would have been hard to fake. I sure hope Huang and HBD were the same blood type, or transfusions are now potentially lethal for HBD. Game also implies that HBD was a worse president than the real Huang, so why did no one notice his sudden drop in political competence in the days following the kidnapping? How did HBD stay in office for twelve years after the switch if he sucks this badly? Need I remind you his country went through an economic crisis caused by forged currency under his watch? There's a reason he was pulling publicity stunts in the first episode, you know!

"Furthermore, are you honestly telling me HBD has always looked exactly like Huang, save (apparently) his physique? If not, how much plastic surgery did that require? Is there a record of the operation occurring anywhere, by chance? Why is there no record of the man who looked exactly like the president that shows him going missing at the same time as SS-5? Why is there no one who would have known HBD (family, friends, coworkers, etc.) and noticed he suddenly went missing around the same time as the president's kidnapping? Someone as smart as the Langs definitely would have put the two together if such a missing person's report existed, so I can only assume that one never surfaced. What is HBD's real name? I don't know, which is why I've been calling him HBD for this entire case's review. None of my questions are ever answered, and honestly? This is worse than Kate's statue moving from two cases ago. In terms of hiding/moving the body of a murder victim, this batshit craziness stretches beyond the pendulum from T&T and... yes, even the statue swing from AAI. But... I reserve fifty sin bombs (and higher) for egregiously terrible Big Bads, and this game's arc villain is actually pretty amazing, so I refuse to cross the fifty sin threshold for any single issue in this entire review." *forty-nine sins, however, is completely acceptable

(Roland, Blaise, and HBD in the same photo format as the OG Yatagarasu) "Pointless parallel with previous title is poorly utilized to connect with prior story arc. Alliteration aside, away from number of individuals, what other similarities do these crime trios have?" *ding

"Why did Blaise and Roland wait until the last possible minute to dig up the real Huang's bones? The film lot has been vacant for a while, and there must have been time before the Grand Tower was built. If anything, I would have been worried the bones would accidentally have been found during the Grand Tower's construction while they laid pipes or utility lines. Why would these careful, hardened criminals run such an obvious risk? This is never explained." *ding

(Forensic report on Huang's remains) "I know I just ranted about how no one in Zheng Fa apparently had record of Huang's DNA, but now I have to ask: why do the American police have the Zheng Fa'ian president's DNA on file? Why would they still have the records after twelve years? Why would Blaise never hide or tamper with them if he's willing to touch literally everything else from SS-5? It would be in his interest to make the files match HBD, after all. I know we needed to confirm this absurd theory somehow, but this is some convenient ass bullshit right here." *ding

(Kay complains that this case has "so much information" and is "way too confusing") "Writers knew how this case would be received ahead of time, yet still wrote it this way anyway. I'm one of this case's  _fans_  and I agree with Kay's assessment. This part of the game is even more confusing and less emotionally satisfying than the  _three hour side-quest_  that was Beginning, Part 2. It felt like I was playing the previous game's finale in this section. But this case has a way better ending, so I'll only sin once." *ding

"No one ever noticed that Cameron just 'happened to own' the same model and size of shoes as President Huang." *ding

(Dogen arrives) "No one even tries to arrest the escaped prisoner when he barges in on a conversation between investigators and a dozen other witnesses. I'm... not going to get into how Dogen snuck into here with such a crowd of people never noticing, and I understand things could get messy if the police tried to corner Dogen, but Gumshoe and the MIB have guns, right? Why the fuck don't they have them trained on the  _convicted_ _assassin_ who also murdered Huang?" *ding

"How long has Dogen been watching us? He knows we're on the hunt for Little Red Kidnapping Hood, so at least several hours, right? How did none of the cops here ever notice they had an unwanted observer? If the police are this bad at their jobs, how did they ever apprehend Dogen in the first place? That is never explained." *ding

"Does this also mean that Dogen is aware of de Killer's murderous intentions toward Keyes? If the assassins are in a death race to catch Keyes, why waste time with Edgeworth at all? Yes, Edgeworth is smart, but clearly so are they! I find it hard to believe neither Dogen nor De Killer were capable of catching Keyes first without Edgeworth's help. The only reason Edgeworth figures it out at all is, quite honestly, Dogen's testimony." *ding

"Keyes's best idea for getting rid of footprints in the snow... is to burn the area with footprints in front of the only place he remembers having to live as a kid. Bit drastic, don't you think?" *ding

"If Roland was so desperate to kill Dogen during SS-5 and willing to resort to murder when she thought Knightley was the acolyte, why didn't she ever try to murder Dogen while he was under her watch? She might never have beaten him in a real fight, but her position as warden would have surely let her poison his food, chain and beat him to death, bribe a rival prisoner to shank him, make him commit 'suicide' in solitary confinement... the possibilities for abuse of power are endless, and the game is telling me she never attempted anything? Fuck out of here!" *ding

(Dogen claims he can hear Anubis's heart) "Wow. Of all the characters I was expecting to share abilities with Athena Cykes, Sirhan Dogen was not one of them." *ding

(Proving there was a middleman in the chess match between Dogen and Knightley) "And here we see the true genius of the second episode coming to light. Everything we discovered during the second case makes sense on the surface, but this case exposes a deeper layer beneath it. For the first and the fourth case as well. While the prison case is only middling on its own, the art of tying all these cases together into a mastermind's elaborate scheme for revenge and vindication is what elevates this finale and game beyond its component parts. It's the reason I'm okay with tying up loose ends from previous episodes in the current one. The reason I rank this case so highly and _wanted_  to save its review for last. Because of all the AA games I've played and replayed, I've never seen one tell such a cohesive and interwoven story while still keeping its heart by giving the characters involved a personal stake, something the first AAI failed to do. Most AA titles nail one or the other (storyline or heart), but this game hit them both straight in the bull's eye." *removes one sin for now

(Using Mr. Analysis to find the hot air balloon) "Zoom and enhance cliche." *ding

"Marsh tries to declare an oath of vengeance against an assassin who just sicced his murder dog on Edgeworth and escaped police custody for the second time this week. Marsh is out of his depth." *ding

(At the circus) "I gotta admit, Keyes's pleas to Edgeworth would be a lot more convincing if his expression changed at any point during the process. That may well be the point, but Keyes so far has been a better actor than this. Maybe his clown makeup hasn't dried yet?" *ding

"Also, Keyes tries to use Edgeworth's words from the second case against him, but the scene in question only shows Edgeworth agreeing that he thinks Keyes is innocent of murder. So far, Edgeworth has only accused Keyes of kidnappings. There's no contradiction in these words." *ding

(Keyes reveals his true face) "Awwwwwwwwwww yeah. What's the largest number of sins I've ever removed for a single character? Twenty, you say? For Edgeworth's appearance in Dual Destinies? Well, my giant Edgeworth boner won't let me go far above that amount, but... Simon Keyes, everybody." *twenty-five sins removed

"Also, his theme song. My favorite character theme in the whole series." *removes five more sins

"Keyes claims he is often found flying low in the city's airspace for advertising purposes. Unless the Berry Big Circus obtained a very long string of permits beforehand, that is not legal." *ding

"Keyes constantly refers to himself as a clown, but I thought his job in the circus was animal tamer. Did he also take over clown duties for Moe when Moe became ringmaster? That's probably a smart move, but it's never explained." *ding

"When did Kay get Ema's number? By the time Kay recovered the memory of even  _having_  a phone number, Ema had already disappeared from our case. Did she get it during the previous game when we weren't looking? Do all the characters in this game share a central phone number database? Seriously, how does this work?" *ding

"Also, is it bad that I totally forgot Ema was even  _in_  this finale? As before, she's only here to help us with forensic minigames. She contributes absolutely nothing to the plot. Nothing would have been lost from this case by replacing her with the forensics guy." *ding

(Shields and Kay pause the case to mock Keyes so Edgeworth has time to think) "This works." *ding

"Since when does Keyes have a German accent? Kay seems to think he does, but there's no mention of it anywhere else." *ding

"Knightley sent Keyes a letter on March 26th, but it arrived on April 5th. Knightley and Keyes are in the same city. Even acknowledging the circus's changing location, the letter should not be this late. The Zheng Fa'ians have mastered same day shipping from across the Pacific, so what's wrong with these bozos?" *ding

"Hey, I have a question about Keyes and Knightley's family situations: where are mothers? Neither Gustavia nor Dover was mentioned to have a wife, yet they somehow had at least some custody of their kid (quite a feat in our current justice system). But even if they had full custody and the mother had zero rights, wouldn't they still be contacted when their sons went missing? If these women cared at all, wouldn't they have at least  _tried_  to look for their sons, maybe even finding them in an orphanage they were dropped into on the same day they disappeared? Did no police officer or social worker put two and two together and explore the possibility? This shouldn't have been a difficult search, but the mothers failed anyway. Yeah... I'm beginning to think Gustavia wasn't the only terrible parent Keyes had in this game." *ding

"I love the way Keyes argues his case here. From this point on, he never denies being the mastermind. Rather, he confesses to quite a few of his actions with little prompting. The problem? Nothing he confesses to is actually illegal. So he made some hardened criminals paranoid. So they acted on their paranoia by murdering fools. In the eyes of the law, he still did nothing wrong. Edgeworth's already realized he doesn't have enough to take Keyes down on kidnapping charges, so where does he go from here? He has to take the long way and prove that Keyes isn't as good at planning as he says he is. He has to find the wrench in Keyes's works (HBD's murder) and unscrew the entire scheme down its last bolt. There's no arbitrary title or formal power protecting Keyes from Edgeworth. Keyes is just a normal citizen, one who's clever enough to use Edgeworth's legal code and need for proof against him. Not only is it challenging, but also satisfying on both ends: we get to uncover Keyes's brilliance even as we watch Edgeworth work his. I really felt like both sides brought their A-game to this match." *removes a sin

"That said, the only murder victim I was never fully 'on board' with Keyes targeting was Jill Crane. Yes, she'd agreed to defend Roland, but so did Shields. We don't know what kind of a lawyer Crane was. For all we know, she took Roland's case for the same reason Courtney got buddy-buddy with Sebastian: to get to Blaise. Crane wanted Blaise to go down as much as Keyes did because Cameron was arguably in the same position Keyes was during the IS-7 incident. The only differences are that Cameron died while Keyes survived and Cameron had people in his life who cared about him while Keyes felt like he never did. Crane is the exact sort of position Keyes would have wanted on his side, but instead of acknowledging a kindred spirit, he got her killed. Even by Keyes's twisted logic, she didn't deserve this." *ding

"Where did Keyes get one of Dogen's bells to attach to the chisel? That's never explained." *ding

(Keyes threatens to pull out a hidden gun as part of his escape plan) "Calisto Yew reference. Wait, that's not a sin."

"Why does Edgeworth back out of using Keyes's phone call itself as evidence so quickly? In Turnabout Sisters  _and_  Rise from the Ashes, we were able to use phone conversations as evidence no problem! Sure, he'd altered his voice, but there is such software that can undo that, and it did exist as of April this year. If that wasn't enough, it would also be possible to ping the location of the calls to where Keyes was when he made it. Regina was with him up until Keyes made the call, so she would be able to confirm if the locations matched. But barring even all of that... why has no one checked the bug Keyes planted yet? He admits it's his! Even if it didn't have something so obvious as fingerprints, there should be a record of Keyes buying one to give us a timeline. That links Keyes to the call, Kay's kidnapping, and even gets him charged with illegal surveillance! The fact that Edgeworth doesn't even  _try_  to explore any of these options is really a sin." *ding

"Why did HBD immediately fire at the Berry Big Circus balloon? Keyes says it's because HBD wanted to kill Courtney and Keyes would have been a witness, but that point is contradicted by the fact that HBD let Courtney go before shooting. HBD's target was Keyes all along... but why? I doubt he would have been able to see Keyes at night from this angle, but even if he did... so what? Keyes was a child during SS-5, and it's doubtful HBD ever saw his face. He shouldn't recognize him from that incident now. And before you tell me he was shooting because Keyes had hired de Killer to go after HBD: how did HBD know that when De Killer himself did not? Unless HBD is in the habit of firing at random strangers on rooftops, his actions don't make any sense here." *ding

"This is really subtle, but... notice how whenever Keyes is actively trying to sound menacing/use the law to his advantage, he adopts Blaise's speech patterns, using words like 'y'know' and 'y'see'. But when Keyes is discussing the incidents themselves or people he thinks deserve death/prison in a more casual manner, he laughs in the same way as Dogen. Then, whenever he's commenting on his personal skill, be it as an animal tamer or otherwise, he first humbles himself before gloating extensively over how far he's come... a la Dane Gustavia. Finally, whenever he's insistent that he has Edgeworth cornered, he talks at length about how the 'game' is over. That last one could be meta, but it could also be a reference to Knightley. Even though none of these habits are (likely) intentional on Keyes's part, each one comes from a man who invariably shaped the person Keyes has grown up to be. Whoever he channels in a specific situation is the person he (if unknowingly) wants to emulate, the figure he believes has the strength to navigate the situation at hand.

"Keyes's driving motivations come from the fact that he was a weak boy among strong (mostly) men. Now that he wants to take on some of these stronger foes, he borrows the strength of others to do it. But he never developed any inner strength for himself, as we come to see later on when Keyes loses his nerve. For all his talk and mocking HBD, Keyes himself is a coward. He's at his best when hiding in the shadows behind 'stronger' people and at his worst when he has to act on the spot as himself. This is made evident in both Keyes's actions as a culprit (planning murders versus being forced to strike back against HBD) and in his confrontation with Edgeworth (using the speech patterns of others versus being forced back into his own persona when things don't go his way). There are some hits and misses when it comes to characterization in this game (Edgeworth's and Courtney's are notable, as I've mentioned, for their inconsistent quality), but the way Keyes is executed here is most  _definitely_  this game's greatest hit." *commentary, not sin. I'll start feeling like CinemaWins if I remove any more sins for this guy

"Keyes's argument that HBD ever used the 51st floor hatch makes no sense. First of all, it presumes that HBD knew it was there to begin with. Second of all, it presumes that HBD was there but unnoticed for all the night's shenanigans within the Grand Tower (Kay's fall, Crane's murder, Blaise and Jenson's cover-up, and the whole ass secret auction) when several of these witnesses would have no reason to conceal HBD's presence (most notably Jenson, but also Lotta if she woke up in time). I realize debating this point would require reminding players about the intricacies of the previous case (which is, quite honestly, one of the game's weaker episodes), but Edgeworth should still know this. Unlike Keyes, he was doing a lot more than passively listening when all this was argued." *ding

(Keyes increases our penalty to 50% and Edgeworth marvels at the amount) "I agree with raising the stakes at this point of the case, but... what are these two talking about in-universe, exactly?" *ding

"Let me get this straight: HBD was squashed by a slowly descending hot air balloon. That is what killed him. He didn't use his gun to shoot through the balloon itself and send Keyes crashing out of the sky. He didn't retreat into the elevator that was right behind him the whole time. Fuck, he didn't even hide under/behind the cotton candy vendor station to avoid the balloon's impact. HBD is a complete and total dumbass. I have no idea how he survived this long pretending to be a nation's president. The more time you spend thinking about this murder scenario, the stupider you realize it is. Which is probably why the game doesn't linger on it for very long." *ding

"I swear, the solution to half these arguments with Keyes is to present the hot air balloon. When in doubt, show Keyes his nightly ride. I would appreciate facing off against him a lot more if the gameplay itself had some complicated trick in it, like what Takumi did with Gant or Atmey in the trilogy games." *ding

"Keyes fit HBD's giant ass corpse into his balloon (probably doubling the basket's weight) and still managed to fly him away with no trouble. I can understand transporting Kay. She's small enough to fly around. But HBD? Nope, sorry. I'm sinning it." *ding

(Keyes gloats about how Edgeworth even took down Gustavia "for" him, reminding Edgeworth of a way for Keyes to have distorted the time of death) "Culprit accidentally gives hero the weapon needed to defeat them cliche." *ding

(Keyes has a fake breakdown) "This troll." *ding

"Keyes's tongue is absurdly red. What, was he sucking on a cherry popsicle before we arrived? I thought Keyes didn't like sweets." *ding

"Gumshoe in a Big Damn Heroes moment. This game shows more restraint with their dramatic character entrances than its predecessor, but it still uses them from time to time." *ding

"Wow, even Franziska gets in on Edgeworth's pep talk. Not gonna lie, I kinda forgot she was in this case." *ding

(The animals attack Keyes the way he threatened to have them attack Edgeworth and co. if they tried to prevent his escape) "Irony." *ding

"That said... for a villain so masterful, I am sad that they went with a comedic breakdown for this guy. Yes, it symbolically captures the image of pawns rising against their chessmaster, but... they couldn't have animated it _any_  less cartoonishly?" *ding

(De Killer shows up to murder Keyes, and Dogen jumps to his defense) "Battle of the assassins. Also, we don't get a cutscene for this." *sin removed, then re-added

"That said... not one, but _two_  assassins snuck into a circus tent guarded by the police, and neither one of them faced any trouble getting in whatsoever. De Killer even escapes without breaking a sweat. Dogen probably could if he'd wanted to, but he chooses to go to prison with Keyes instead. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the police suck at their jobs." *ding

"On the subject of Keyes going to prison... I do feel odd saying this, but I'm happy that prison is where Keyes ends up. Not only because of the danger Keyes poses to other people, but because prison will allow him to (if slightly) let his guard down now that Roland isn't there to threaten him. Finally, he can feel safe with the only man he ever trusted near his side. Dogen, for all his villainy, was willing to break out of prison and face off with the current best assassin in the game all because he was  _concerned_  for Keyes's well being. No one else has ever shown Keyes that sort of love, and given his outlook on life, I doubt anyone else ever will. But Dogen also does the right (in a way) thing by agreeing with Edgeworth when he says Keyes needed to be 'put in his place'. He doesn't encourage Keyes to run around playing God. He encourages Keyes to settle down in the only place he'll ever feel accepted. I've felt a range of emotions about how Big Bads have gone out once our hero defeats them in game, but I'm perfectly content with this ending. It truly is a satisfying conclusion on all fronts. Though I'm sure that sharing the yard with Blaise will be awkward, to say the least." *no sin

(Dogen gives his knife to Marsh and offers to let the teen kill him) "When did Dogen get his knife back? In the confrontation with De Killer, he appeared to be holding a chisel. Not only that, but I thought his knife was disposed of by Blaise before Roland's trial. Did Dogen also go dumpster diving before joining the tent party? Did the trial finally find it, and he stole it from the courthouse? Does he secretly have more than one knife? This is never explained." *ding

"And with one speech, thirteen year old Marsh proves he has more inner strength to him than Keyes ever will by refusing to take revenge on Dogen. I may not like Marsh, but I did admire him for this moment. Good work, Cow Boy!" *removes a sin

(April 8th in the PIC room) "It's the afternoon of the 8th already? How long was our confrontation with Keyes, again? I know it took a while, but I didn't think Edgeworth was going to investigate through the night  _again_  for two finales in a row. And what happened on the 7th? Game skips days and thinks I won't notice." *ding

(Edgeworth takes his prosecutor's badge back) "I know I've ragged on Edgeworth's characterization and story arc in this game, but this scene is the perfect conclusion to everything Edgeworth's gone through as a character so far. He's been every type of prosecutor. He's seen every sort of way his power can be used for evil. He's tried standing on the opposite bench to obtain a fresh perspective. He's investigated cases from outside both prosecutor and attorney roles. He's come to peace with the legacy of both his father and (prior to this game) Manfred Von Karma. And after everything he's experienced, he's still certain that he wants to be a prosecutor. He knows without a doubt that a prosecutor's path is the best road he can walk in his constant search for truth. Reaching this scene is like closing the book on Edgeworth's journey as his own character. Because of this game, I don't feel bad for Edgeworth only serving as Chief to other prosecutors now. I still enjoy when he gets his own cases, but after this case, he's at his best when he's leading the next generation. His characterization in games like DD and SoJ is what Phoenix's should have been once he got his badge back. Good job, Yamakazi. Good job." *no sins, just tears

"Also, the way Gregory's theme plays over Edgeworth as he chooses to remain a prosecutor. It's just perfect." *still not sinning, here

(Telling Courtney about our main series judge as a reminder that she too can act humane) "This is cute and all, but... are you telling me she's never met any of the other judges in this series before? I know Courtney is young, but if she's this new to judging cases, how did she ever earn a spot on the PIC board? Is... is game planning to explain this? Looking at the time remaining on this episode, I'm gonna have to go with no." *ding

"Also, Edgeworth, of all people, saying that perfection is overrated. Glad Franziska wasn't in the room when he said that." *ding

"This ending theme." *removes a sin

(in the credits) "What is Badd already doing out of prison? He turned himself in for his role in the Yatagarasu less than a month ag- oh wait. The statute of limitations for thievery is seven years, remember? And how long was it between Ablaze and Reminiscence, again? Yep. Clever bastards. That only leaves his break-in with Edgeworth's office, and I can believe Badd getting a light sentence for that. Though this does mean that Badd is totally available to appear in future games and never does for... what reason, again?" *ding

"Give another hand to our fan translators, will you? They deserve all the love for their hard work in this fandom. Good on them for adding their names to the credits sequence."

"What new nickname did Sebastian invent for himself? I'd love to know, but he never shows in any other AA title." *ding

"Post credit scenes. What is this, a Marvel movie? Yes, I know other games have them. Do you not remember how sad I got when I saw the one in SoJ?" *ding

"Gumshoe gets a raise. I have waited six games for this to happen, and the moment has finally come." *removes a sin

"Gumshoe says that as long as these three characters work together, there's nothing that can stop them. We never see these characters assemble together ever again. Two of them disappear after this game entirely." *ding

**Total Sin Tally: 169**

**Sentence: Mighty Moozilla's Rampage**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N's: And there you have it. Last review in my eight part series. My first finale to review (Turnabout For Tomorrow) ended up receiving 169 sins, and my last finale to review received the same number. That wasn't planned, by the way. I never go in planning the number of sins a case will receive. I have vague ideas, sure, but until I do the final count at the end of the review, who knows what number is going to appear at the bottom of the screen?
> 
> Still, like I said, I'm glad I saved this review for last. I go back and forth on calling Grand my favorite case in the series, mostly because its far less its own case than a conclusion of several other cases. In some ways, that really makes Grand shine, but in others, it really hinders the episode's pacing and development. But I do really like Keyes and consider him to be my favorite AA villain so far. You've already gotten to read my reasons why.
> 
> In total, AAI2 received 560.5 sins from me. That is more than PW:AA, JFA, T&T, or AJ, but less than DD, SoJ, or AAI. If you even the playing field by dividing the sin count by number of episodes you get:
> 
> -PW:AA with an average of 77.8 sins per case
> 
> -JFA with an average of 93.5 sins per case
> 
> -T&T with an average of 105.3 sins per case
> 
> -AJ with an average of 126.5 sins per case. If you divide by five to account for the flashback, then 101.2 sins per case
> 
> -DD with an average of 132.75 sins per case. If you combine Cosmic and Tomorrow, not only do you get the hardest sinned individual case in the series, surpassing even Ablaze, but you also get 159.3 sins per case. This number has changed slightly because I went back and edited the review recently
> 
> -SoJ with an average of 111.8 (rounding up) sins per case. If you keep the parts of Revolution together and divide by six, then 130.4 sins per case
> 
> -AAI with an average of 122.2 sins per case (or 115 without Ablaze's bonus round)
> 
> -and AAI2 with an average of 112.1 sins per case.
> 
> By this metric, AAI2 is more sinful than PW:AA, JFA, T&T, or (barely) SoJ as seven cases, but less sinful than AJ as four cases, DD, or AAI. Weird how AAI2 ranked fifth both times.
> 
> Altogether, this series has a combined sin tally of 4,546. What is the conclusion that can be drawn from this data? That I... have wasted very many hours of my life on this questionable medium of entertainment. Hope I at least made some other people happy along the way. Otherwise, this is just a niche and useless scream into the void.
> 
> I will be traveling starting tomorrow, so I might not respond to reviews right away, but don't let that discourage anyone from leaving their thoughts below. I always enjoy hearing from people. So until I come back to update a different fic... this is farewell. See you on the far side, guys!


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